


you get too close you'll get a royalty high (so breathe it in to feel the love)

by infinitylilies



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Brittany and Quinn are cousins, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Artie Abrams/Kitty Wilde, Minor Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Minor Sam Evans/Mercedes Jones, Minor Tina Cohen-Chang/Mike Chang, Not Finn friendly, Royal Brittany S. Pierce, Royal Quinn Fabray, Sam and Quinn are Twins, Smart Brittany S. Pierce, Unholy Trinity Friendship (Glee), brittana, side faberry, starts freshman year, will (hopefully) follow entirety of high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27407098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitylilies/pseuds/infinitylilies
Summary: "Alright," she began uneasily. "I'll do it. I'll go to the dumb school."Her parent's smiles beaming back at her were almost enough to make her think this could possibly be a good idea, but the nerves surging in her stomach said otherwise.Boarding School/Royalty Brittana AUTitle from Kings & Queens by Ava Max
Relationships: Artie Abrams/Kitty Wilde, Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Mike Chang/Tina Cohen-Chang, Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray, Sam Evans/Mercedes Jones, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 17
Kudos: 64





	1. no damsel in distress, don't need to save me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I definitely should not be starting another story, but I really just wanted to get this first chapter posted! I've been working on chapters for my other stories, so those should be posted shortly.
> 
> In order for this story to work, you're gonna have to completely disregard the current royal family in England lol... Also, I'm American, so I can't claim to know entirely how the government works in England, but I'm gonna do my best.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, it's going to be a combination of a Boarding School/Royalty AU!
> 
> Also, side note, I have this set in current times so just keep that in mind!
> 
> Note: I do not own Glee or any of it's characters; any and all mistakes are my own!*

* * *

_May_

* * *

"Hell no."

"Santana Alma Lopez..." Her mother's voice was low, but she could hear the threat laced throughout the words.

"Sorry Mami," she replied sheepishly, lowering her eyes to her hands, which were clenching and unclenching in her lap. "But I just, I can't go!"

Her father, who had been silent up until this point, merely looked disappointed- and weary, clearly fed up with her antics- but his face remained otherwise impassive. "Mija," he began carefully. "this is a wonderful opportunity for you."

"I don't care. I'm not going to leave my friends! It's my freshman year of high school, why can't I just do it here?" She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice but failed as her voice cracked on the last word.

"Santana, think about it. It'd be a new experience for you! Meet new people, learn about a new culture... not to mention the doors it will open for you once you start applying for colleges."

At that Santana swallowed, feeling guilty. She knew how hard her parents worked and she'd heard them on more than one occasion exchanging hushed arguments about how they were going to manage to pay for her college. Going to this school would make her stand out back here in the states, and the advanced education would open up the possibility for her to receive some sort of scholarship in the future. She was a good student already, sure, but to colleges, she was just the same as every other average girl.

Her father leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and peering at her from over the top of his glasses. "You should feel grateful mija! They only award three fully paid scholarships a year! There were thousands of applicants and out of all of them, you were chosen! You were chosen for a reason and-"

Her mother interjected, cutting him off. "Listen, we're so proud of you and all the hard work you've done. We just want what's best for you. This school is one of the highest-rated in the world, andddd rumor on the streets," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively, in a way that made Santana cringe, "is that there's even going to be some royalty attending this year! Maybe you can find yourself a prince charming along the way!"

Santana's stomach tightened, her breaths becoming slightly more shallow.

_Stop it, good girls, normal girls, want to find their prince charmings! If you meet the right one then you'll be happy and you'll never have to worry about disappointing your parents again. Besides, you could do much, much worse than a prince..._

"Alright," she began uneasily. "I'll do it. I'll go to the dumb school."

Her parent's smiles beaming back at her were _almost_ enough to make her think this could possibly be a good idea, but the nerves surging in her stomach said otherwise.

* * *

_September_

* * *

Santana Lopez did not get scared, she did not get nervous, and she certainly did not cry. Standing outside of the Colombus International Airport, she rolled her eyes at the tears leaking from her mother's eyes. This was her idea in the first place! She didn't get to be upset about Santana leaving when she's the one who _chose_ to send her away! She would have been perfectly happy to stay in her old school district in Lima, with her old friends. Speaking of friends, she checked her phone, reading through a few messages they had left her. Lima School District had gone back to school a few weeks ago, but the boarding school she was headed to didn't start until mid-September. 

"Alright, I think that's the last of them." Her father grunted as he heaved her two large suitcases- and one carry-on- onto the sidewalk next to the car. Two bags didn't seem like enough, no matter how large they were, but her mother- having been assured by the admissions director- in turn, assured Santana that she wouldn't need that many things, seeing as she would have to wear a uniform. _That_ was one thing she wasn't sure she was going to get used to. It didn't help that from as far as she could tell, the uniforms were ugly as sin.

"Your Mami, will walk you in and take you up to security, but I'm afraid this is where we part mija."

Stepping up onto the curb, he wrapped his strong arms around her, burying her face in his chest. Santana hugged him fiercely back, "I love you Papi. I'll miss you." 

In response, he planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head. She stood still for a moment, breathing in the scent of her father, the smell of his cologne, and the underlying smoke of cigars. He smelled like home, like childhood memories. Her eyes stung as she fought back tears. Santana Loped _did not_ cry and she certainly wasn't about to start today.

Finally releasing her father, she hoisted her backpack onto her back, before grabbing the handle of the larger of the two suitcases. At only 5 feet tall, she was fairly short for her age, and was always worried about people viewing her as weak because of it. Her mom grabbed the other suitcase as the two of them waved goodbye to her father, and the car slowly pulled away to find a parking spot. 

Plastering a smile on her face, Santana turned to her mother. "Well come on, I've got a flight to catch!"

* * *

She sat in a rigid plastic chair, scrolling through Instagram on her phone. She'd been waiting at her gate for a little over 30 minutes, after checking her bags and a tearful (on her mother's part) goodbye, as well as a relatively painless trip through security. The airport required that all minors under the advice of 16 who were flying alone be accompanied to and from their gates. Her guide, a stoic man named Jeremy, had barely said two words to her, besides his parting wish for her 'to talk to the ladies at the desk if she needed anything'. Whatever, she didn't need someone who would coddle her, she was 14 years old! She didn't need help, she was _practically_ a grown adult.

The overhead speaker buzzed to life. "Boarding for gate A36 to London will begin in 5 minutes." The announcement yanked her from her thoughts, as she began gathering her items and shoving them unorganized back into her backpack. Another perk of being a minor? She got to board first, and since the school had paid for her ticket- a condition of her scholarship- she was sitting first class. Santana had only been on one airplane before, back when she was 7 years old and her Abuelo had died. She barely remembered the trip, but she certainly hadn't been in first class. 

The five minutes passed quickly, as she people watched and came up with elaborate stories about where they were going and why. When it was time to board, she barely managed to conceal the rolling of her eyes as a patronizing flight attendant, with a voice sweet enough to give her a toothache, carefully and deliberately described every step of the process for boarding.

"I'm not an idiot, I know how to get on and off a plane." She said, her will to remain nice snapping. The flight attendant froze for a second, her face dropping briefly before morphing back into her manufactured smile. "Well," she began, tone dripping with condescension, "aren't you a spirited little one?" The woman stood from her squatted position, running her hands down her polyester uniform once before harumphing and heading back to the desk.

The rest of the boarding process was fairly straightforward. She got in line, handed the lady her ticket, and walked herself to her seat. The first-class seats had two chairs per row, and Santana was assigned the window seat. Yanking up the window shade, she shoved her bag into the space in front of her and turned to stare out the window at the workers moving bags to and from the planes. She hoped no one would sit next to her- while the seats were spacious and comfortable, she didn't need anybody else's judgments, and she'd heard many horror stories about kids sitting next to weirdos on planes. The rest of the passengers slowly filed in, pausing only to allow others to put their bags in the overhead compartments. Santana was in the very front row, so she could see every single person that entered the plane.

As the seats filled up, a girl about Santana's age-if she had to guess- entered the plane. Her rolling suitcase was sparkly, with a large gold star on the front. The girl herself was short- shorter even than Santana- but the way she held her head up made her seem older than she probably actually was. Instantly Santana couldn't stand the girl, she held an air of self-confidence, but so much that it seemed like her ego might burst at any second. Dread bloomed in her stomach as the girl- who had stopped to complain to the flight attendants about the 'altitude affecting her vocal cords'- walked towards the empty seat next to her before stowing her suitcase away above them, and dropping into the seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Hello, I'm Rachel Barbra Berry. The nice gentleman on the front of the plane informed me that the two of us are headed to the same destination! How exciting is that! We can compare schedules and..." The girl prattled on. There was no way in hell this girl was going to the same boarding school as her. Lord have mercy, she was never going to survive this trip- especially if they had to take the same shuttle to the school. She did not have a good feeling at all about this school, especially if it was going to be filled with a bunch of kids just like Rachel. Speaking of the girl- she continued to talk and Santana briefly wondered if it was too late to switch her seat.

"Can it troll. Some of us are trying to _relax_ on this flight, which I can assure you is going to be very long. I have no doubt that you can talk continuously for several hours at a time, but I have no interest in proving myself right or wrong, so I repeat myself: can it."

Rachel just stared at her, mouth agape. Feeling satisfied, Santana yanked her phone and AirPods out of her bag before drowning out the rest of the world in music, as the plane took off and she left her old life in Lima behind.

* * *

The rest of the- very long- flight was uneventful. Rachel talked almost non-stop, except for when their lunch arrived, and Santana did her best to tune her out. Besides the fact that she was annoying as all get out- Rachel wasn't that bad of a seat partner. She stayed on her side, didn't move around much, and was kind when Santana got up to use the bathroom. The flight attendants frequently check up on them and occasionally slipped them a few extra snacks, complete with a surreptitious wink, and a small smile.

As the plane descended, Rachel was finally silent for more than 10 minutes, and for that Santana was grateful. The brunette offered her a piece of gum, 'To ease discomfort in the ears as the plane's altitude decreased', but Santana rejected the offer. Shrugging, Rachel popped a piece in her own mouth, chewing rather obnoxiously at first before plugging in her own headphones and closing her eyes.

After the landing, the pair of teenagers- Santana had learned she was right in guessing her age, Rachel was just a few months older than her- followed a haggard-looking security officer through customs and into the baggage claim area. Santana was wide-eyed at her surroundings, the biggest adjustment of all being the sound of people's accents. Coming from Ohio, everyone had the same droll, mid-western accent. She made a resolution to get a British accent while she was here so that when she came back she'd be even _more_ badass.

Rachel had unfortunately continued her excited chatter as they were led through the twists and turns of the airport hallways. Santana was certain she knew far too much about the shorter brunette for having only met her earlier in the day. Speaking of the day- the time difference was definitely going to be a bitch. England was 5 hours ahead of Ohio, and while their flight had been early in the day, it was now late at night in the UK. She figured sleeping tonight would be okay, she was already exhausted from all that sitting- crazy as it seems- and just wanted to lay down and take a nap. The security guard grunted, in what Santana was assuming was an attempt to tell the girls that they were at the correct baggage claim carousel. With a nod of his head, the man- she'd never quite caught his name- walked away, back towards the security gates. 

"So," Rachel began. "Why don't you tell me what your bags look like and I'll tell you what mine look like and then we can assist each other in locating our luggage in an effort to make it as time-efficient as possible."

"Whatever Berry."

Rachel remained unperturbed, "Great! I have three bags. One for my clothes, one for my musical instruments-"

Santana cut her off, "Just tell me what they look like. I don't care what's inside."

Hesitating for only a moment, Rachel nodded her head. "Okay, well I have a purple suitcase with pink dots, along with a matching duffel and a yellow plastic suitcase. How about you?"

Santana rattled off what her bags looked like as the pair moved out of the way so other passengers could grab their bags. Finally, after what felt like forever, Santana spotted bright yellow that could only belong to Rachel.

"Hey dwarf, I think I see your bag!"

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "I'm not even _that_ much shorter than you! And can you not be any more creative than dwarf?"

Santana shrugged, a smirk stretched across her mouth. "Whatever, just go get your bags _hobbit_."

Rachel groaned, approaching the conveyor belt and hoisting the bags off and onto the ground next to her. Luckily, Santana's bags were right behind hers so as Rachel wandered off to find a luggage cart, Santana set her bags on the ground next to Rachels. Rachel reappeared several moments later, dragging a cart two times the size of her body towards them. 

"My god Berry, you don't need that big of a cart. Didn't they have any smaller ones?"

"No as a matter of fact Santana, they did not. Besides, we can both put our luggage on here, it'll be immensely easier to just share."

Begrudgingly, Santana had to admit she had a good point. The girls loaded their bags onto the sign before heading towards a man who had been waiting, holding a sign that said 'Mckinley Academy'. 

Rachel excitedly squealed, running towards the man who was clad in a tuxedo and dark shades. Santana paused, _this is it. Last chance to turn around and make a run for it. You've got money, you could probably buy another plane ticket and be home by tomorrow..._

"Santana!" Rachel's shrill voice cut through her thoughts. The shorter girl motioned wildly with her hands. Mustering up the courage, and taking a few steady breaths, Santana plastered on a smile and walked towards her future.

* * *

The car ride had been long. They had driven in a town car and it had taken Rachel over half an hour to stop freaking out about the steering wheel being on the other side of the car. Santana had simply donned her earbuds once again, resting her head against the tinted windows and trying to nap before she arrived at the school. She must have nodded off at some point, because before she knew it Rachel was gently shaking her shoulders, telling her they had arrived.

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. Rachel gave her a cold look as if she was personally offended Santana could even think about being tired when they'd finally arrived at the school. The driver, Larry, was very polite and told the girls to head on in and their luggage would be delivered to their rooms. That was one thing Santana was dreading. Roommates. Everyone in the school had a dorm that they shared with one other girl- or boy if you were male- and you were stuck with them every year that you attended. Santana's parents had been thrilled, they had told her it would be great preparation for college and a perfect opportunity to make more friends. Speaking of friends, she glanced at her phone to see that not one of them had responded to her texts about arriving. Santana huffed, what great "friends" they were...

As they stepped out of the car, Rachel let out a small gasp. "Oh my goodness, look how grand it is! Oh, I must ask the headmistress about who designed it, and I wonder how the acoustics are inside... With those tall ceilings, it must be great!"

Santana didn't share the shorter girl's excitement, but even she had to admit the building was beautiful. The whole outside was covered in gray stones, with tall turrets and balconies looking over the perfectly manicured garden. There was a fountain in the center of the driveway, which other cars pulled around as other students arrived. It was late, but students would continue to arrive throughout the night and into tomorrow afternoon before school started on Monday. That gave them a few days to adjust to life in boarding school and become acquainted with their peers.

The doors that the students entered through were just as grand as the rest of the building- which looked more castle than school- and made of dark oak. The double doors led into a beautifully furnished sitting room, where several teenagers were milling around, some looking bored, some lost, and others hugging friends excitedly. The stream of cars outside had finally dwindled down. Staff members instructed all students- and any parents who were there to see their children off- to take a seat on any of the available chairs or couches. 

Rachel grabbed Santana's hand, holding on even when she tried to yank it away, and pulled her towards two empty spots. The girls plopped down as they waited to be addressed by the headmistress- a tall, scary-looking woman with short blonde hair and an obviously expensive pantsuit.

"Welcome to the Mckinley Academy," The woman began, her accent subtle enough that Santana wondered how long she'd actually lived in England. "I'm Sue Sylvester and I am the headmistress of this school. Here at Mckinley, we value all aspects of our students and encourage them to pursue opportunities that line up with their strengths. We have one of the best choirs, an award-winning sports team, and the most advanced equipment for academics."

Several of the parents made affirming grunting noises, and Santana could see Rachel visibly brighten as Headmistress Sylvester mentioned the choir. From Rachel's unrelenting chattering on the plane, she had learned that Rachel was also attending on scholarship. Mckinley Academy awarded three scholarships- typically to people out of the country- for academics, the arts, and athletics. Rachel was obviously the arts scholarship, she had attended a performing arts school in Cincinnati and after leading her middle school show choir team to nationals victory two times, as well as starring in several productions, her fathers submitted her application for a scholarship- which she received easily. Santana knew her scholarship had been based on academics. Why, she wasn't exactly sure. Her grades were good of course, but they didn't stand out, at least not to her. Through some luck- or divine intervention- Santana had managed to receive the scholarship. Neither Rachel nor Santana knew who the athletic scholarship had gone to, but they figured they would find out soon enough if gossip at Mckinley was anything like gossip back in Ohio.

Santana realized she'd slightly zoned out during Headmistress Sylvester's speech, as the woman droned on and on about their "state-of-the-art facilities" and so forth. What caught her attention was when the woman began to talk about boarding arrangments- and consequently the royalty.

"Now I'm sure you've heard plenty of rumors floating around about some of our students' social status." She began, adjusting her suit slightly uncomfortably. "Those of you who are from the UK, and possibly those from out of the country, probably know that some of the children of the royal family have reached high school age, and yes they will be attending the school. I will not name names- if you know, you know- but they are all in the year 9 class." Glancing around the room at the people suddenly sitting up straighter in their seats, she continued. "And, there is a possibility some of you may be boarding with them." Excited murmurs filled the space as the children- and their parents- began whispering to each other. "However, I expect that you will treat them the same as any other student. With that comes the need for extra security, so we will have security guards stationed all around the school and particularly in the halls where they will be staying."

Santana didn't know how to feel, on one hand, she was excited- she'd never met anyone famous before- but on the other, she really hoped she wouldn't be rooming with any of them, she was sure she'd make a fool of herself. Next to her, Rachel was practically humming with excitement as she prattled on and on about the royalty who she figured would be here.

"I mean I read in a People magazine that several of the royal families children are old enough to be attending here. But the family is so large that it's probably not really anyone of any significance. I want to meet them however, I'm sure I could impress them with my vast musical talent." Rachel talked on and on, as Santana did her best to ignore her again. 

Headmistress Sylvester began talking again, quieting down the room which had become slightly rowdy. "I'm going to read off this list here and tell every student their room number. Once you hear your number, please remain seated until everyone has been dismissed." The blonde woman cleared her throat twice, before being handed a piece of paper by a particularly frazzled looking redheaded woman. "Alright. Anderson, room 144. Agron, room 267." She carried on through the list, stopping to repeat a number once. "Berry, room 235." Rachel turned towards Santana and smiled. 

The list seemed to last forever, but finally, Headmistress Sylvester arrived at the Ks, and subsequently the Ls. "Logans, room 132. Lopez, room 239."

Next to her, Rachel squealed, evidently delighted that their rooms were so close to each other. Santana didn't know how to feel. She'd only known the girl a day, but she already gotten under her skin like no one she'd met before. Despite that, she felt a certain comradery with the shorter brunette, it felt like Santana had known her much, much longer. _Probably because the dwarf never shuts her trap when it comes to talking about herself,_ she thought, with a small eye roll. She decided it would be okay to be near Rachel, at the very least she'd have at least one person she knew, so she wouldn't be entirely alone.

Rachel was practically jumping up and down with anticipation as the headmistress neared the end of the alphabet. Finally, almost painfully slow, she dismissed them to go find their rooms where their luggage would be waiting for them. Dragging her by the hand, Rachel pulled her down the long corridor into a hallway lined with dorms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a somewhat boring chapter, just had to get everything set up! I hope you guys like this story! Please let me know what you think :)
> 
> Chapter two is already completed, just needs to be edited, and then it should be up within the next few days!


	2. but queens are free to go wherever they like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two (finally)!  
> I hope you guys enjoy this and please let me know what you think!
> 
> Note: I do not own Glee or any of its characters. All mistakes are my own.

Santana walked into the drafty room, praying to any God above that her roommate wasn't a total freak. It'd been hard enough to actually find her dorm in the first place- the halls were lined with doorways, numbered seemingly nonsensically, with no rhyme or reason. She'd originally been trailing behind Rachel, as the two of them became more and more frustrated with, as Rachel put it, 'The lack of adequate signage'. She was right, there were only vague placards at each intersection, giving general directions, but not proving to be of much use. Rachel had eventually stumbled upon her room, leaving Santana on her own. The shorter brunette had given her an apologetic smile and promised to find her at dinner before disappearing into her room. 

After wandering through the carpeted halls for several minutes longer, Santana had finally come upon her dorm. The room was average sized, filled mainly with two beds, one of which was currently being occupied by a blond boy. He was sprawled across the quilt, face down on his stomach, his long legs dangling off the side.

"Ummm...Hello?" Santana began tentatively, not wanting to scare the boy.

He sat up abruptly, a smile on his- rather large, as Santana noted- lips. "Well, hello there." His tone was even, tempered by a heavy British accent.

Santana merely stared at him. "I thought the dorms weren't supposed to be co-ed?"

"They're not." A new voice broke through, light and airy, complete with the same accent as the boy on the bed. Santana whipped her head around to the doorway behind her. A girl stood there, about the same height as Santana, maybe a few inches or so taller. Her hair was the same golden blonde as the boy's laying across the bed. Santana's brow furrowed as she glanced between the two.

"Sam," the blonde girl began, moving towards the rumpled bed. "I told you I would meet you in _your_ room."

The boy- Sam- looked at her sheepishly. "Aw sis, I just wanted to meet your new roommate." He winked at Santana. "Make sure she's good enough for you."

The girl rolled her eyes before pushing her brother off the bed. He grasped onto the quilts, unsuccessfully seeking purchase anywhere on the firm mattress, and landed on the floor in a blanketed heap. Santana had been watching the exchange with wide eyes, wondering if she should interject, as the blonde girl turned towards her.

Shaking her hand firmly, the girl introduced herself. "I'm Quinn Fabray and that," she motioned towards the lump on the floor where the boy still hadn't gotten up, "is my stupid brother, _twin_ brother, Sam."

"Santana Lopez." She replied, feeling uncomfortably off-put by these two strangers. The gears in her mind turned fruitlessly, trying to place where she had heard the name Fabray before.

"Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Santana."

Quinn was the most polite and put together girl her age she'd ever met. Something about her demeanor made Santana want to stand up straighter and maybe run a brush through her tangled hair. She'd been so entranced by the dynamic between the pair in her room that she'd been off her game. Silently she cursed herself for not trying to appear more intimidating in front of the person she'd be forced to spend the next 4 years with.

"Uh, you too, I guess."

Quinn laugh airly, her face contorted with humor. "Did you decide which bed you want yet?" The blonde asked sincerely.

Santana glanced at Sam, who was sitting up against the bed he'd previously been laying on, the quilt and the sheets pulled around him. "Well, I figured I'd take the one that your brother _hasn't_ destroyed."

Quinn flushed a little, obviously embarrassed. "Oh, yes, obviously, I'm not sure why I even asked that."

Santana wanted to laugh, this girl seemed so prim and proper, a stark contrast from her classmates back at home. Quinn turned towards her brother, yanking the blankets off of him and throwing them back on the bed.

"Sammy, go back to your room. You need to meet your roommate as well, and I need to get to know mine."

Santana felt a strange sense of nerves at that- what could Quinn have in mind? Like a dog, Sam stood up obediently and murmured a quick goodbye at his sister before leaving the room, pulling the heavy door shut behind him.

Quinn's hazel eyes bore into her, and Santana could tell she was being assessed. "So, you're Santana."

She laughed drily. "Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what I literally just told you."

Quinn's cheeks colored slightly once again, before she steeled her expression, regaining her composure. "Alrighty then Santana. What do you like to do for fun?"

It'd been a long time since she'd thought about doing something merely for _fun_. The question took her aback a little bit. _What did she like to do for fun?_ "Umm..." she stuttered slightly, trying to produce any sort of answer. "Well, I like to read and sing... Oh, I also do cheerleading."

At that Quinn's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly, leaving Santana feeling suspiciously like she'd passed some sort of test. "Oh, how wonderful!" She exclaimed. "We have a magnificent cheerleading team here at Mckinley."

Apprehensively Santana responded, "I'm not sure if I'll have enough free time to be on a cheer team..."

Quinn simply shook her head, dismissing the Latina's concerns. "Nonsense. The school is very good at making sure everyone has time for extracurriculars _and_ school work."

She started to speak but was barely past the first syllable when a knock rang on the door.

"Come on in!" Quinn yelled in that prim and proper accent.

The door opened slightly, but whoever was on the outside declined to fully step into the room. "Quinn," a soft voice called out. "I was told to fetch you so you can make your rounds in greetings."

Quinn sighed dramatically, flinging herself across the bed in a way that reminded Santana of Sam. "Ugh, tell them I'm not feeling well."

The girl on the other side of the door hesitated. "They already saw you and Sam running through the halls earlier... Come on it won't be so bad."

Quinn groaned again, pulling herself up to a sitting position. Santana was trying to peek through the crack in the door, to catch a glimpse of the girl standing outside. Standing up finally, Quinn mumbled, "Well you might as well come on in and wait. I expect they want you to make appearances as well." She laughed humorlessly. "I need to get changed into something more... appropriate."

The girl outside made a huff of approval as she opened the door fully and strode into the room. Santana felt awkward and out of place next to her- she was only a few inches taller than the Latina, but the air around her was all-consuming and immediately filled the room. Ever the polite guest, the blonde extended her hand to Santana. "Hello, I'm Brittany." Brittany flashed her a smile that threatened to knock Santana out with its force.

"Hello," She greeted, trying to remain casual, but she had to admit Brittany was the most beautiful girl she'd ever met. Santana sat perched on the edge of her bed, staring at the blonde sitting directly across from her.

"So, uh, are you friends with Quinn?" Santana asked, trying to make small talk and break the awkward silence that engulfed them.

Brittany laughed. "Friends? I don't think so... We're cousins, unfortunately." She smiled in a way that showed Santana she was just teasing.

Santana found herself laughing along with the blonde. Something about her lopsided grin and that twinkle in her blue eyes made Santana want to instantly agree with everything she said. "So you guys have to go... meet people?"

Instantly Brittany's expression dimmed. "Well, Quinn and Sam do. I already said hello."

Quinn, who was emerging from the bathroom as Brittany spoke, scowled deeply. "What? You went without me?"

The blue-eyed girl looked sheepish. "I'm sorry Q! I tried to get away from it but everyone was coming up to me and I got a little overwhelmed."

"Whatever," Quinn said, trying her best to look irritated and failing. "Well in that case maybe you could show Santana around? She's new here."

As Brittany agreed and launched into a conversation with Quinn about what dress she should wear, Santana found herself left with more questions than she'd started with.

_Who were these people? Why'd they have to go talk to people? Why did Quinn's last name seem so familiar? How did they know so much about the school if they were freshmen like her?_

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Santana glanced up at the girls who were currently staring at her. Brittany offered her a smile, before telling her that she'd give her a tour around the school. Standing up stiffly, Santana followed the two blondes out the door.

* * *

The rest of the school was just as confusing as the dorm hallways and Santana knew she'd be lost come Monday. Brittany however, made it bearable, with her bright enthusiasm and infectious smile. Leading her through the twists and the turns of the school Santana was in awe. The interior truly was beautiful- if a little dated- with it's ornate rugs and weaved tapestries hanging from the stone walls. Speaking of the walls, the dark stones that they were composed of reminded Santana of a jail cell from a movie and the thought made her chuckle darkly. This school already felt like a prison, and not just because of its archaic interior design. Brittany gave her a questioning glance before continuing on with the tour. The ceilings were cathedral style, tall and arched, covered with stained glass artwork that reflected colored fragments onto the students below, who were congregated in some sort of lounge similar to the sitting room they'd entered the school into.

Suddenly Brittany gasped. "Come on, I just thought of the perfect place to show you!" The blonde grasped Santana's hand, tugging on her gently. Her fingers were long and her palm was smooth, and Santana gulped slightly, head rushing a bit. Around her, she became astutely aware of the scrutinizing glances ricocheting back and forth off of them. Feeling a little embarrassed- and some other emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on- Santana pulled her hand from Brittany's gentle grip. The blonde looked crestfallen, the corners of her mouth dropping sadly before quickly hardening into a familiar smile that Santana was starting to realize may be little more than a mask.

Feeling slightly guilty, the Latina turned towards the taller girl, apologizing. "Sorry Brittany, it's just..." she fumbled for an excuse. "My hand is kinda sweaty right now." Instantly her cheeks flushed. _That was a stupid excuse._ She silently cursed herself for not thinking of something better, but Brittany accepted it with grace, giving her a knowing smile. 

Wanting to make it up to the blonde- who was being kind enough to go out of her way to give her a tour- Santana stuck out her pinky finger, "Pinkies?" She asked, hoping that Brittany would accept it.

The blonde girl smiled- a genuine smile this time- before linking fingers with her, swinging their connected hands once before gently pulling Santana down a hallway off to the side that she hadn't noticed before.

* * *

Stepping through a secluded doorway, the pair entered what Santana assumed was a dance studio. The floors were a polished black, walls lined with mirrors, and a gorgeous crystal chandelier hung over a shiny black grand piano.

"This is my favorite place to come and hang out." Brittany said, removing her hand from Santana's and slipping off her shoes.

Again, Santana was confused about how Brittany had already spent so much time here, when the school only started at 9th grade but pushed away her concerns, reasoning that maybe the studio was open for public use. 

"Do you like to dance?" Santana asked, hoping to get more background on the girl who was still mainly a mystery to her.

"I love dancing. I've been doing it since I could walk. And," she started hesitantly, eyes flicking to the ground and voice taking a serious tone. "It's the one thing that I do where people forget all the stuff that's attached to my name," for the umpteenth time that evening, Santana was confused about what she meant by that, but didn't interrupt her to ask. "and just see me for me."

Santana could relate. Growing up in an environment that had been predominantly white, she was used to her fair share of teasing about her darker complexion and unruly hair. "I know how you feel. I love to sing because of the way it makes me feel, I dunno, _real_." Santana didn't know why she was sharing so much, she hardly admitted to anyone that she could sing. With a start, she released Brittany was actually the _second_ person she'd told in one day- earlier, when she was desperately trying to find a response for Quinn, she had admitted her enjoyment for singing. _Damn, this place was already changing her._

Brittany's mouth stretched into a wide, beaming smile, revealing her perfectly straight, white teeth. "You sing, really? Can you sing something for me?"

Santana wanted to say no, but the hopefulness in the blonde's expression wore away her resolve. "Alright..." she agreed hesitantly. "Can I use the speaker over there in the corner?" Brittany nodded vigorously, bouncing up and down on her toes like an excited child waiting to receive a gift. "And do you have a particular song in mind?" She hoped she wanted a song that she already knew.

Brittany thought for a moment. Tapping her finger against her lip she asked, "Can you sing that one about the girl burning something? I can't remember the name..."

The brunette thought for a second before understanding snapped in place. "Oh did you mean 'Girl on Fire'?"

Clapping her hands once, the blonde exclaimed, "Yes, that's the one!"

Santana nodded her head, clearing her throat a little bit. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jeans, powering it on and opening Youtube. Cursing aloud at the snail's pace it was loading at, she looked up at Brittany. "Can I use your phone to play background music?"

Brittany looked faintly embarrassed as she shook her head, eyes sincere. "I don't have one."

Santana wondered what kind of teenager didn't have a phone, but brushed it aside with all the other questions she'd had accumulated during the day, accepting that maybe her parents were just strict. Meanwhile, her phone hadn't made any progress loading and she figured she'd need to find a password for the school wifi very soon if she hoped to survive. "Well, I guess I can just sing it acapella..."

She moved forwards to the center of the room and turned to face Brittany, shaking off a few nerves. Taking a plunging breath, she threw herself into the start of the song. Her voice was a little shaky at first, she hadn't really sung in a few weeks, but as she became more and more confident it steadily improved.

In front of her, Brittany had begun dancing along to the pace of the song, her movements graceful and entrancing. She twirled and leaped with an ease that Santana could only dream of. She understood now, how people could watch others dance for hours. There was something spellbinding about the way her body flowed, the way her legs stretched and her hands cut through the air. She almost forgot to sing for a second, faltering on a note before finding her rhythm again. As the song came to a conclusion- much earlier than Santana would have liked- the blonde did one final pirouette, landing steadily on two feet. 

She smiled at Santana, her breaths coming a little faster. "I think I should show you the cafeteria now!"

* * *

Students had already begun to line up in the cafeteria for dinner, and Santana realized with a glance at her phone that it was only 7:30 pm. It felt much later to her, probably because of the long day she had had. 

Brittany's demeanor had drastically changed from when they were with just Quinn, and when they were alone, to now, in front of all the students in the hall. She was just as nice to Santana as she had been before, but something about the way she spoke so innocently made Santana believe she was trying to prove something.

"So that's basically the end of the tour!" Brittany was relentlessly cheerful as she turned towards her with one of her signature smiles. "Any questions?"

Santana thought briefly. "What time are meals and classes and stuff like that?"

"Well," The blonde scratched her head thoughtfully. "I'm not entirely sure... typically people just tell me when it's time to eat. And classes... well when the bells ring I suppose." Her comments were laughable, but Santana could see the glint of humor in her eyes that made it clear she was just messing with her.

Santana laughed lightly, resolving to find a schedule somewhere else. Her neck prickled slightly as she felt eyes on her. The entirety of Brittany's impromptu tour- minus when they were alone in the dance studio- had been filled with students gazing at them, their eyes digging into her skin. She didn't know why everyone was staring at her, she hoped it wasn't because they were making fun of Brittany, who was currently practicing pirouettes unbothered. Brittany really was a great dancer. Her movements were smooth and her technique was as flawless out here as it was in the studio.

A sharp voice cut into her thoughts as two arms wrapped around her waist. "Santana!" Rachel squealed squeezing the Latina. "Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! My roommate is ah-mah-zing and I can't wait for classes because she told me that they're supposed to be-" She faltered, eyes growing wide eye as they jumped from Santana to Brittany, who had moved closer to her as Rachel had approached. 

"Uh," she stuttered, staring at Brittany. This was the first time Santana had ever seen the diva at a loss for words, earlier today she could run on for hours. "Umm, Santana?"

Santana had no idea what her deal was, why was she acting so weird? "What Berry? Close your mouth or say something, bugs are gonna fly in and eat away at your vocal cords if you keep it open any longer."

Rachel snapped her jaw shut, still staring at the blonde. "Well, hello there," she started, shaking her head a little bit, long brunette locks flipping in the air. "I'm Rachel Berry."

Brittany smiled again ignoring- or maybe not noticing- Rachel's strange behavior. "Hi Rachel! I'm Brittany Pierce."

 _Holy crap..._ Realization dawned on her as the pieces snapped into place. Pierce, as in the royal family Pierces, as in the freaking king and queen of England, which could only mean one thing... This was their daughter. She'd just spent the last hour with a princess and not even known it!

"I'm sorry did you say Brittany _Pierce_?" Santana asked, feeling emotions she couldn't even begin to name.

Brittany nodded, looking a little worried like she'd somehow upset the girl. "Brittany Susan Pierce, that's me."

"You're a princess." The words weren't a question, merely a statement of dumbfounded shock.

Brittany brightened slightly. "Yes, I suppose I am."

Santana couldn't do anything but stare at the girl- the _princess._ "And you just walked around with me for like an hour, never once thought to mention it."

The blonde shook her head a little. "It never came up! Plus I didn't think it really mattered. I just didn't want you to not like me because of it." As she spoke the last sentence, her blue eyes watered a little as her face contorted into a sad expression.

Instantly all the shock Santana had been feeling dissipated, replaced with concern and desire to comfort the girl. "Aw, shit, no Brittany don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you. Besides," she swallowed down a knot in her throat. "You're right it doesn't matter."

Santana was finally realizing what Brittany's prior comments had meant, and she didn't want to be one of those people who judged her and made her feel like she couldn't be herself.

The blue-eyed girl looked hopeful. "Really? Are you sure? Everyone here knows who I am and all of them won't talk to me 'cause they think they're gonna get in trouble. I just wanted some friends."

Santana felt her heart break a little. How could these kids be so cruel as to alienate her for something she couldn't control? But she knew how they felt, subconsciously she felt even herself drifting away from the girl a little. Brittany now seemed like one of those glass animals her Abuela used to collect. They were beautiful, sure, but ridiculously fragile and Santana was only allowed to view them from behind the glass of the china cabinet. If she touched the blonde it felt like she might accidentally break her, like she was glass in human form. Delicate and intricate, but easily broken if you're not careful. 

Pushing down her feelings of discomfort- and fear she'd be executed if she upset Brittany- Santana resolved to try to be friends with the girl. Behind her bubbly good-natured personality, Santana could tell she was lonely and in return overcompensating with a kindness she never expected to be returned. Santana wasn't one for niceties or being sweet in general, but for the girl in front of her, she would try. 

It seemed Rachel shared the same sentiment, as she stepped forward to gently hug the tall blonde, who was still wiping a few stray tears from her big blue eyes. "I know we only just met," the brunette began softly. "But I'd love to be your friend as well." 

Brittany looked positively pleased as she returned Rachel's smile. "I'd love that. Come on," she said, grabbing Rachel's hand and gently linking pinkies with Santana. "Let's go eat some dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is kinda late, I've been crazy busy with school. I'll probably have another chapter up in a week or so. I also just realized I've written like 7,000 words about the very same day, so hopefully I can get the story moving soon lol! Most of the major background is set now so I'm excited to get into some other stuff. 
> 
> A few things to note that aren't really important yet, but will be eventually:
> 
> Quinn's first name is still Lucy, but I dropped the entire storyline that goes along with it.  
> I also have been really struggling with how I wanted to do Brittany's characterization, but I hope that what I settled on works.  
> I'll add it to the tags as well, but this fic is definitely not going to be Finn friendly, starting with the next chapter!  
> Lastly, I haven't decided if I'm going to have a Beth storyline yet... so you'll just have to wait and see lol


	3. and make it a world you won't forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos, comments, and anyone who takes the time to read my stuff. I really appreciate it :)  
> Also, I have a twitter account if you're interested where I'll be posting updates. The @ is the same as on here, so infinitylilies
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter ;) I think you guys will be excited about what's starting... 
> 
> As always: I do not own Glee or any of its characters; all mistakes are my own

The first week of school had been... brutal to say the least. Like she suspected, Santana had been extraordinarily lost on the first day. The hallways were confusing, frequently jutting off into dead ends with no rhyme or reason and Santana felt unhopeful that she'd ever get the pattern down. Luckily, she wasn't the only student who felt that way, as many others were new to Mckinley as well. Going to a private school after 8 years of public school was an adjustment, a whole new environment- one she was still working on adapting to. Perhaps the strangest part of all was the uniform, which wasn't as bad as she had expected, but she wouldn't be on the cover of Teen Vogue anytime soon. One thing she did enjoy was the options in the uniform, while most of it was exactly the same, but there was at least a little freedom. Girls could choose from a dark red plaid dress with the school blazer on top, or a plaid skirt with a white blouse, a patterned red tie, and the same blazer. In the winter, or when it got cold, girls could also choose to wear dress pants with their blouses instead.

Santana was unfortunately terrible at tying a tie, however, a fact that left her cursing in the mirror almost every morning, as the bells rang in the corridors signaling that she needed to hurry her ass up. Thankfully Quinn had taken to helping her, the girl somehow already a seasoned expert at tying them, she could even do it with her eyes closed- Santana knew because, on one particularly boring evening, the blonde had tried it over and over until she could do it just as fast as with her eyes open. Santana was impressed, but when she asked Quinn how she had learned to tie ties so well, the girl had merely mumbled something about her father, her eyes going dark and face closing up. Instantly back-peddling, Santana quickly moved into a conversation that she hoped would be a little less polarizing.

Speaking of Quinn, Santana was pleased with the friends she'd already made. Every day she'd eat breakfast, lunch, tea time- which was something Santana was still learning about- and dinner with the previously mentioned blonde, Sam, Rachel, Brittany, and one of Quinn's friends Mercedes. The Latina was still trying to be careful around Brittany- and to a lesser degree Quinn and Sam, as she had learned they _also_ were royalty but not quite as high up as the tall blonde- while not alienating her. Brittany was always cheerful, offering bright smiles to anyone who walked past, many of which would be briefly returned before they realized who they were smiling at. It hurt Santana's heart to see the way the blue-eyed girl would dim slightly before trying to shake it off. Movies and books had made her believe that princesses would be the most popular girls at school, she never imagined that people would purposely _try_ to avoid royalty. 

She'd been talking to Rachel later in the evening of her fifth day at Mckinley in her dorm room- Quinn had gone off to cheerleading practice, which she had still be unsuccessful in getting Santana to join- when that very topic came up.

"I really don't understand why people avoid her so much. Shouldn't they want to become friends with royalty, for like power or something?" Santana said casually, flipping through a magazine that Rachel had brought from home.

The brunette leveled a stare at her, speaking firmly. "Maybe you should first ask yourself why _you_ are so distant from her."

Santana hated Rachel at that moment- well really she hated her at a lot of moments, but she was right, and for all her flaws the girl was impossibly good at understanding tough situations and giving proper advice. "I'm not distant from her I just..." She faltered, realizing that she _was_ staying away from the blonde as much as possible. She dropped her head onto her knees, feeling guilty about her actions.

Rachel patted her on the back, muttering reassurances that she wasn't a terrible person before jumping into one of her infamously long-winded rants, "Look Santana, I've only known you for a few days, but I'm a notoriously good judge of character. You're a good person, with at least somewhat decent morals. If you ask me, I think you are more worried about Brittany not wanting to be friends with you, rather than the other way round. And I get it, I mean I'm very confident in myself, but even I sometimes feel like my social standing is lackluster next to hers, which is silly of course seeing as one day I will be immensely famous, but you just have to recall that she's the one who reached out to you first regarding friendship. You two are really great together, as friends you complement each other in all the right ways, so I don't think you should push her away just because you're letting her title scare you off. If I didn't do things that scared me, not that I get scared easily- I'm very difficult to frighten, as you must already know- I never would have become the youngest soloist to win a national award for choir singing."

Santana stared at her for a moment. "Despite the fact that you managed to make almost half of that about yourself... you're right." It was tough for her to admit that Rachel _freaking_ Berry was actually right- and had actually given her pretty sound advice. She resolved to try to reach out to Brittany, she knew that even in their group of shared friends the blonde sometimes felt like an outsider.

Rachel returned to her music theory homework, while Santana continued to flip through the Jewish girl's magazines, trying to procrastinate on her own school work and wondering with slight fear what dinner would be that night. The school food was not as bad as public schools- add that to the very short list of things that both she and Berry agreed on- but it certainly wasn't gourmet. Rachel, who was a vegan- and somehow managed to bring that point up with every person she'd talked to so far- found the salads to be 'acceptable' and they often had vegan meat alternatives in other dishes. The rest of the nonvegan food was okay, though it was mainly prepackaged pizza and dingy fruit bars, occasionally they'd have good desserts, and on Sunday mornings they got fresh baked scones and bacon.

Pushing thoughts of dinner- which was still a good 2 hours away- out of her mind, Santana set down the magazines and moved to her desk to try to at least glance over her school work. The work wasn't hard, but rather long and tedious which she found to almost be worst. She had just picked up her pencil when the door clanged open, sending both her and the dwarf several feet into the air.

Quinn waltzed in, laughing at her brother in the hall as he waved goodbye. "Hello my darlings!" She drawled, in the worst faux-southern accent Santana had ever heard. 

"Why the hell are you talking like that." 

"Moody today aren't we?" Quinn glared at her, plopping down on the Latina's bed directly next to Rachel, who had returned to her school work. "And for your information, I was walking down the hallways when I saw someone wearing a cowboy hat."

Santana stared at the blonde, who was half draped over Rachel, watching her doing math homework. "You saw one cowboy hat and for some reason that made you think you should speak in a southern accent?"

Really Santana just wanted to know why someone in this school actually owned a cowboy hat, but she was agitated from the stress of the day and everything set her on edge, especially after her talk with Rachel.

"Really Santana, I don't know why you always must be such a buzz kill." Rachel chimed in, defending Quinn.

Santana glared at both of them, before rolling her eyes and sitting down in her desk chair, all the fight gone out of her.

Rachel closed her textbook, turning to better face the blonde. "So, where'd you and Sam go?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Quinn teased, wagging a playful finger in the brunette's face.

"Come on Quinn, just tell me!" Rachel's voice mimicked the friendly tone that had previously colored the blonde's, but underneath that Santana could hear real curiosity peeking through. Frankly, she wondered about it as well, but she had enough of her own secrets that she knew when to leave things alone. Quinn and Sam had a habit of disappearing for hours at a time before mysteriously reappearing and refusing to tell anyone where they went. Santana was curious about it, but not to the point of obsession that it seemed Rachel had reached.

"Do you reallllyyyy wanna know?" Quinn said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes!" Desperation began to creep into Rachel's voice, as Quinn dangled the truth in front of her.

Quinn scooted closer, her face only inches apart from Rachel's, a wicked smile gleaming on her lips. "I'll tell you, but it's gonna cost you..."

"Seriously at this point, you can have whatever you want." She thought for a second. "Except for my talent, but I doubt that you'd be able to handle it anyway... however, other than that, anything."

"Anything?" The blonde repeated questioningly, her face only an inch away from the diva's, her breath close enough to push brunette strands of hair into motion.

Rachel made a tiny noise of agreement, nodding her head slightly. Quinn's eyes flickered down to the brunette's lips, hesitating on them a moment before her face flamed and she pulled away quickly, suddenly aware of how close she'd been to the girl. Rachel herself wasn't fairing much better, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip as she breathed slightly heavily.

Santana watched the entire exchange with wide-eyes, feeling like she'd been intruding and also feeling majorly uncomfortable. Staring at Quinn and Rachel, she wondered if maybe she'd imagined the entire event between them- Quinn's face no longer bore any sign of the pink dusting it'd previously had, and Rachel's breaths were coming at a normal pace- but Rachel's hands were still grasping hard at the quilt beneath her, turning her knuckles white with the exertion, and Quinn was nervously tapping her foot against the side of the bed, looking anywhere but at the girl next to her. 

Quinn stood up, straightening her skirt and smoothing down her blouse. "Well, I'm still not going to tell. And if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Ms. Corcoran in 10 minutes."

With a final, lingering glance at Rachel, the blonde turned and walked out the door.

* * *

October

* * *

Somehow Santana had made it through a month a Mckinley without going absolutely insane. The school work was still fairly easy, the hardest thing to get used to was how different some of the curriculum was from what she had learned back home. The only positive to that was that she was only bored about 60% of the time with what she was learning, compared to the 100% of the time she was bored in Ohio.

After talking to Rachel way back during the first week of school, Santana had made it her mission to be as friendly to Brittany as possible. The two of them had gotten very close, and could frequently be seen linking pinkies as they walked down the hallways, other students blatantly staring at them as they wondered who the Latina girl was that hadn't been too scared to be seen close to Brittany. Rachel and Quinn had also become good friends as well and Santana was happy that the four of them had formed such a tight-knit group. Feeling overly sentimental late one night, Santana had told Quinn how happy she was that she and Brittany were best friends and that Rachel and Quinn were best friends, and together they had made a real, genuine friend group. Quinn had laughed slightly, shifting uncomfortably, before agreeing that she was glad they were best friends as well.

Right now the big thing on every student's mind was Halloween- and the school dance to go along with it. Santana hadn't even realized that they celebrated Halloween in England, but Brittany told her that every year on Halloween-which was thankfully on a Saturday this year- the school threw a big costume party.

Santana still hadn't decided what she was going to dress as, as she sat in the cafeteria talking to Mercedes- a girl who she had instantly befriended when Quinn introduced them back in September.

"I have no idea what the hell I'm gonna be." The Latina groaned, dropping her forehead to the cold wood of the lunchroom table.

Mercedes was busy texting her boyfriend- who coincidentally, or not, was Sam Fabray- and had been doing her best to ignore Santana's groans and complaints all week long since the brunette had first learned of the dance. As Santana whined again, Mercedes put down her phone and turned to the desperate girl, giving in a little, just to make her stop.

"Listen S, it's not that big of a deal. Just pick a costume and go with it. Nobody said it had to be good."

"Easy for you to say. You and Sam have had your couples costume planned since the beginning of the school year. Besides, I can't wear just anything. I need to maintain my badass status."

Mercedes burst out laughing- and continued laughing for a good while- before wiping tears from her eyes as she tried to slow her giggles. "Girl, what 'badass status' are you talking about? I don't think there's a single person in this school who's scared of your skinny ass."

Santana glowered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Uhuh! Literally nobody ever tries to talk me, which means they're scared of approaching me, which means I've done my job." The Latina girl smirked at Mercedes, convinced that she'd proved her point.

Mercedes shook her head, dumbfounded. "They're scared of you, but not because they believe you 'have razor blades in your hair'. They're all scared of getting on your bad side because they know how close you are with my girl Britts. _Brittany_ is the one they don't want angry at them- they're all convinced she can order them to be beheaded or something stupid like that."

Santana didn't know what to say. She was a little hurt that she hadn't had quite the impact she'd wanted on the school _yet,_ but she figured she could get there with time. Straightening her spine and pushing her shoulders back, she scoffed at Mercedes. "Whatever, at least they're still scared of me in some sense."

Mercedes had returned to her phone, fingers flying over the screen as she smiled surreptitiously at whatever Sam had sent her. Not looking up from her phone she said, "Why don't you and Brittany do a matching costume like Rach and Quinn are doing?"

"Ok first off, I have no desire to do anything similar to what Rachel Berry does, like _ever._ But..." She drawled out the T, tapping her chin. "It's not a bad idea." Mercedes harumphed, looking pleased with herself. "I'll ask Britt if she's decided on her costume yet and if she hasn't maybe we can match." Santana smiled genuinely at the girl across the table, before standing up. "Thanks 'Cedes. I'll see you in history." 

Sliding her phone into her pocket, Mercedes waved goodbye at Santana, her eyes sparkling with humor. "What would you do without me?" 

Santana laughed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I really don't know... How would I ever survive without your infinite wisdom?" Sarcasm laced her words, but it was all in good humor, as the pair shared a final laugh before Santana walked away to find Brittany.

* * *

"Hey Britt." She approached the girl, before plopping down on the bench of piano, legs tired. The school was huge, and Santana had searched for a good 15 minutes before finding Brittany in the dance studio, which in retrospect probably should have been the first place she checked.

The blonde paused the music coming from the CD player before grabbing a quick swig of water and heading over to the Latina. "Hi San!" Her voice was excited and she flashed the brunette one of her signature smiles as she dropped to the floor, stretching out her muscles.

"How long have you been dancing in here?"

Brittany frowned slightly, glancing up at the ceiling as she thought for a moment. "Maybe like 2ish hours?"

She motioned towards the hand towel sitting on the bench next to Santana, who grabbed it quickly, tossing it towards the blonde. "Is the first break you've taken?"

Brittany paused wiping her face, looking up sheepishly at Santana, her expression answer enough.

"Britt! You're going to hurt yourself if you don't rest a least a little bit." Her voice softened. "I don't wanna anything to happen to you..."

Brittany smiled, speaking softly. "I know my limits San."

Santana simply shook her head, knowing there was no convincing the blonde once she was set on something. Trying to steer the conversation naturally towards the reason she'd come, Santana asked, "So, have any big plans for the dance tomorrow?"

Brittany brightened, chattering excitedly. "Well, I haven't decided what I want to be yet... But I can't wait for the dance! I've seen the decorations and it's gonna be super spooky!" She waggled her eyebrows at that, causing Santana to giggle a little. "Plus there's gonna be a dance floor with strobe lights so that will be awesome!"

Santana cleared her throat, lifting herself up and relocating to the floor next to Brittany. "So... if you haven't decided on a costume yet... wanna do something matching?"

She braced herself, praying that the blonde didn't reject her. Brittany clasped her hands together excitedly, smiling widely. "Oh my gosh! That's a splendid idea! We could go as matching unicorns, or fairies, or even cats!" She squealed, flinging her arms around the brunette.

Santana wondered what exactly she'd gotten herself into. Brittany had the best imagination of anyone she knew, but with that came the risk that she'd make her dress up in some crazy, bedazzled number, which was definitely not her kinda thing. She started to voice her concerns, but her thoughts quickly faded as she resigned herself to just enjoying the moment, particularly the way Brittany's arms were still wrapped tightly around her.

* * *

The next morning found Santana- bleary-eyed and still half-asleep- standing in the foyer, grouped together with Quinn, Brittany, Sam, Mercedes, and Rachel. It was late morning- though still far too early, if you asked Santana- of the dance, and students had been given permission to travel into the neighboring village to buy supplies for costumes. Most of the students had left several minutes earlier, boarding onto the big white vans owned by the schools and leaving quickly, pebbles from the driveway kicking up behind the wheels as they left them behind.

As Santana had quickly found out, being friends with royalty meant things would be happening a little differently. They couldn't just let Brittany- and to a lesser extent Quinn and Sam- wander around town without some sort of protection. As the school administrators discussed various options for bodyguards and security, Santana listened wide-eyed, feeling a little overwhelmed. She used to wander around Lima at all hours of the day and now she couldn't even go to a store without a full-on security detail. 

"It's okay." Brittany had said, attempting to soothe Santana's nerves- she strongly disliked any sort of authority- and rubbing a gentle hand on her back. She smiled nonchalantly, linking their pinky fingers together. "Besides, nothing's going to happen. Nobody's tried to kidnap me in, oh about 3 years."

Santana guffawed, not sure how to even respond to that, settling on just moving on from the topic and tightening her grip around the blonde's finger. After what felt like forever, the teachers had decided how best to deal with the group- the prior night they had asked Brittany who she wanted to go shopping with, and she chose the entirety of their friend group, much to Miss Pillsbury, the frazzled school counselor's, chagrin. 

"Alright girls and boy." Mr. Schuester, one of the teachers at Mckinley, began. "We've got a van for you guys. Tell the driver where you want to go and he'll take you there. Me and Miss Pillsbury will be following behind you in a car, along with the bodyguards. Once you arrive at the store of your choosing, the guards will go in first, wait for the shop to clear, then escort you inside. They will watch the doors while you shop and accompany you back to the van once you are finished."

Santana's mind was swirling, bombarded with all that information, but everyone else was nodding so she went along with it. The group walked out the doors, boarding the van and immediately breaking off into pairs to sit with. Brittany hadn't let go of Santana's pinky, and without so much as a word, pulled them towards the middle row of seats

At the front of the van, Quinn called out, "I call dibs on sitting with Rachel!"

The brunette in question blushed slightly, before yanking Quinn down into a seat near the front. Santana wondered what was going on with the two of them, but her thoughts were interrupted by Mercedes, who was holding Sam's hand as she moved to sit near Santana and Brittany.

Teasingly, she joked in response to Quinn's claiming of Rachel, "You can have her Q." She smiled, looking at Rachel. "You're a saint for somehow managing to put up with Berry. I think I'd jump out the window if I had to sit next to her for more than 2 minutes. No offense Rach."

Rachel laughed along with the rest of the group, taking the jokes in good humor. To be honest, Santana was still slightly baffled at the fact that Quinn and Rachel had become such good friends. Rachel honestly seemed like the type of person that Quinn would hate in another life...

"Hey, you think sitting next to her on a car ride is bad?" Santana raised her voice, standing up slightly and leaning over the back of the seat in front of her. "I had to sit next to her for over 10 hours on a cramped plane. Try surviving that torture!" She sat down, a satisfied smirk on her face.

From the front, Rachel protested loudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I resent the accusation that sitting next to me for any duration of time is 'torture'. I'm a perfectly lovely seatmate!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

The driver, who had allowed their entire exchange to occur uninterrupted, cleared his throat as the car behind the van beeped once, then twice. In a thick Scottish accent, he queried, "Any ideas where you want to go first?"

Everyone yelled out at once, the van erupting into a cacophony of voices mingling together with their accompanying laughs. The driver groaned, but was soon laughing along with them as he pulled down the gravel driveway and towards the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is finished! I hope you all liked this chapter because I had a really great time writing it. I was excited to finally introduce Mercedes as a character, so I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be the dance!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos, it's what inspired me to get this next chapter out so quickly! Please continue to tell me what you think, I really appreciate the feedback.
> 
> To all my fellow Americans, enjoy your Thanksgiving but remember to stay safe and wear a mask if you must go out :)
> 
> Again, you can follow me on twitter @infinitylilies for updates on my works if you feel so inclined!


	4. we would pop champagne and raise a toast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! To those of you who celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful (and safe) Thanksgiving! Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get up, I took a quick break to spend time with my family and just relax before I have to go back to school. This chapter is also a little shorter so I apologize, but it's not too bad.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's just going to be the dance :)
> 
> As always: I do not own Glee or any of its characters; all mistakes are my own

Santana walked into the auxiliary gym, her stomach a bundle of nerves, soothed only slightly by the girl standing next to her. Brittany was smiling, excited, as she bounced from foot to foot, trying to get a peek over the heads in front of them, into the transformed space. In front of them were Mercedes, Sam, Rachel, and Quinn, sectioned off into their respective pairs, but standing tightly next to each other. The air in the hallway was hot- already suffocating with the heat of teenage bodies and the scent of too much cologne. Santana hoped the smell of Axe, or whatever the British equivalent was- would disperse once they got away from these buffoons behind them

The boys in question were two that Santana, unfortunately, knew fairly well. Finn Hudson, the soccer, or she supposed football here, team captain, and his best friend, Noah Puckerman, also from the states, also on scholarship. Rachel was the arts scholarship, Santana the academics, and Noah, aka Puck, the athletic. The two boys were dressed as crude zombies, garish looking fake blood dripping down the sides of their mouths. Santana wanted to point out that that seemed more like a vampire thing but decided to spare herself the encounter. She shook her head slightly, being careful to mind the headband on her head that Brittany had so painstakingly chosen.

The two were dressed as a bee and a pot of honey- Santana was the bee, with a striped black and yellow shirt, a puffy yellow tutu, black leggings, and a sparkly headband made to imitate the antennas on a bee. Brittany on the other hand was the honey, with a metallic gold dress paired over sparkly gold tights. On top of her head, she was rocking a pot, similar to the one Winnie the Pooh had, which was styled in a way that made her golden hair look like it was spilling over the edges, like actual honey. Santana had been nervous about letting Brittany pick costumes, but she had to admit that the blonde had done a good job picking something that was cute, but not outlandish. The brunette glanced at her honey- her stomach fluttered a little thinking of Brittany as her _honey_ , even though she knew what she really meant. Or at least what she thought she meant...- who had inched forward a little bit, talking to Quinn about what sort of snacks she was going to eat if they ever got inside.

Quinn and Rachel had also done matching costumes. Rachel was dressed as a literal star, go figure. Santana had tried to conceal her snickers when the shorter girl had first announced her costume, because really, could Rachel Berry possibly go as anything else? Quinn was dressed in black from head to toe, with white pockmarks of fabric paint dotting the expanse of darkness and a crescent moon painted in shimmery silver on her back. As Quinn had explained it, she was the night sky and Rachel was her star. Both girls had blushed slightly when explaining the costume, but before Santana had had a chance to ponder why, Mercedes had pulled her away to help her with tying her hairband.

Mercedes and Sam, the favorite- and only- couple of their friend group had gone as Snow White and Prince Charming. The costume was sickeningly sweet, just like the two of them and although Santana liked to give them grief, she truly was happy for them. Santana had a feeling they'd be together for the long-run, which was more than she could say about most highschool- especially first-years- couples. Mercedes looked pretty in her dress, which they had found in a costume store in town, along with her hair, which had been curled and tied back with Snow White's iconic red ribbon. Sam was also dressed extravagantly, in expensive-looking riding pants and a silky men's blouse that Santana was beginning to think he might have already owned before Halloween.

The six had already been standing in line for several minutes, making very minimal progress towards the front. Santana didn't understand why it was taking so long- it wasn't like there were tickets, since it was a private school basically everyone had to attend, and there was no concern about outsiders sneaking in, and the gym was more than large enough to hold everyone. 

Santana sighed once again, which seemingly was one too many times for the blonde standing next to her, who had been trying to keep everyone's spirits up. "I've got any idea," Brittany began, tapping on the shoulders of Quinn and Rachel who were watching something on the brunette's phone. "Let's play a game while we wait."

Sam looked mildly enthusiastic at the idea, as for the rest of them, their expressions had hardly changed, perhaps lighting with a bit of concealed interest. "What sort of game would we play?"

Brittany tapped her ballet flat clad foot, humming slightly. "How about... truth or dare?"

The idea was quickly shot down, nobody really felt like spilling their guts in the middle of a crowded hallway. Brittany remained unperturbed, thinking again. "Well, if you don't want to play truth or dare we could always play Never Have I Ever."

It was slightly better than truth or dare, easier to keep the questions tame at least, and it wasn't like they had anything better to do, so hesitantly they all agreed. Brittany smiled, excited to have something to do while they waited. "Ok," The blonde began, shifting from foot to foot. "I'll go first."

The rest of the group murmured their agreement, putting five fingers up in the air, seeing as they didn't have any sort of drinks to play with. Brittany, who had been mulling over what she was going to say, lifted her head up and spoke. "Never have I ever... failed a class."

Sam groaned, the only one of the 6 to put a finger down. He looked sheepish, his cheeks colored slightly as Mercedes gave him a questioning glance. "In 7th grade, I failed earth science. But it wasn't my fault! My teacher was bloody horrible at his job." Sam muttered the next part. "Always seemed more inclined to secretly drink out of a flask than teach us anything..."

They all chuckled, agreeing with Sam that it wasn't his fault. Santana thought about the previous question. In all her years of schooling, she didn't think she'd ever been even close to failing a class. She frowned slightly. Had she really been so invested in school work that her grades never once slipped? Damn, she was boring. Brittany, who had been talking about how she had come close, but never quite failed a class, noticed Santana's mood shift and offered her a tight smile, bumping their shoulders together gently. Santana didn't know how it had happened, but she and Brittany were connected in a way that she'd never been with any of her friends before. Maybe it was because Brittany was the most empathetic person she'd ever met, always in tune with the emotions of those around her.

They inched forward slightly, getting closer and closer to the entrance. Since Sam was the only one who had put a finger down, it was decided that he would go next. He ran a hand through his mop of blond hair, wrapping an arm around Mercedes. "Hmm... Never have I ever... smoked a cigarette." 

This one Santana had done and she put down a finger, cringing slightly. Quinn also put down a finger, shrugging off the glance Rachel sent her way. Santana cleared her throat. "When I was 13 a group of boys who I went to church with offered me one on a mission trip." Everyone accepted her answer with grace, subsequently turning their heads towards Quinn.

The blonde looked tense, seemingly uncomfortable with explaining when she'd smoked before. "I was also 13. I stole a pack from my father. I don't know why, I just did." Quinn's eyes hardened as she spoke and Santana was becoming very aware of the fact that Quinn's father was a sore subject for her. Only Mercedes and Santana seemed confused by Quinn's gruff tone, but they knew better than to ask questions. Sam and Brittany's expressions were sympathetic, which Santana understood. Sam was her brother, so he probably had the same experience and their father was Brittany's uncle, so obviously she would know the history as well. Rachel, however, the understanding lighting on her face was a bit of a mystery to Santana. She knew Rachel and Quinn were close, she just didn't realize they'd reached the stage of friendship where they unloaded their demons onto each other though. 

The mood in the air had obviously been altered in some way and Brittany- who had started the game- was also the one to end it prematurely. Shooting a worried glance at Quinn- who was standing stiffly, rubbing her thumb over Rachel's hand- she spoke up. "We are almost to the front. Let's stop playing for now."

They moved back into pairs, standing close to each other and talking casually about the prior week and the classes. Brittany raised her eye brows, eyes going wide as she linked pinkies with Santana. "Look how close we are guys!"

* * *

20- very long- minutes later, the group had reached the entrance and Santana saw the reason for the holdup. They had converted part of the gym into an actual haunted house and were only letting one friend group go in at a time. There was a sign on the door that said 'Beware! Do not enter!' and at the doorway were two teachers dressed in creepy witch costumes. The witches were cackling, running their fingertips over the students' backs, the ghost of a touch causing Santana's skin to tingle as she shivered. They were herded into the haunted house, the first room full of fog and flashing strobe lights.

Santana had abandoned Brittany's finger, opting to wrap her arms around the girl instead as they moved through the twists and turns of the house, shrieking as the other actors, dressed in all sorts of costumes- vampires, werewolves, zombies, and more- jumped out at them, wielding fake chainsaws and plastic blades. Santana burrowed her eyes into Brittany's shoulder, not caring who saw her. The blonde on the other hand looked absolutely delighted, laughing when the rest of them were screaming and calling out cheerful greetings to the monsters hidden behind tables and in the thick smog.

Rachel and Quinn were tightly embracing, both of their faces hidden as they shuffled sideways through the rooms in a way that reminded Santana of a crab she'd seen when she'd visited the beach in Florida. She couldn't judge them though, Santana wouldn't be winning any awards for bravery anytime soon. Mercedes and Sam were somewhere in between Brittany's laughing and Rachel's screams of terror. Mercedes flinched and turned into Sam's shoulders whenever something jumped out, but remained facing forwards for most of it. Sam walked in the very front, chest puffed as he pretended to be unbothered, but anyone could see the way his grip on Mercedes tightened with each turn.

The house lasted several frightening minutes, each "room" a different theme, Santana's least favorite the one designed to resemble a butcher shop, with fake dead pigs hanging from the ceiling. Rachel was offended rather than scared, grumbling on about the ethicality behind butcher shops and how the poor pigs had lost their lives. She looked more inclined to throw up than scream, as she ranted on and on before Quinn took one for the team and clasped a hand over the brunette's mouth, effectively silencing her. 

Another room that had scared her- not that she would ever admit to being frightened- was the circus one. Santana could not do clowns, especially not after the real-life clown stuff a few years ago. She shuddered as the bloody clowns chased them out of the final room and into the main part of the gym. As the group spilled into the decorated space, Santana couldn't help but feel awestruck. The normally dingy gym had been converted into something truly impressive. The floor was covered in a layer of thick, green smoke and the walls were decroated with all sorts of halloween decor, such as giant spiders and creepy cobwebs. By the food and drinks stood more teachers, all dressed in costumes meant to resemble the grim reaper, if Santana had to guess. Music blared from the DJ station, a mix of halloween music and top 40s songs. The lights were strobed and flashed around the room to the beat of the music. The food itself actually looked good for once- sandwiches fashioned to look like brains and different snacks such as grapes peeled to look like eyeballs. There was a giant bowl of punch in the center table, punch that was green and bubbling, letting off a scented smoke as it toppled over the edge of the fountain it was pouring out of.

Next to her Brittany was delighted. "I told you it was gonna be super cool!"

Santana laughed. "Yeah, Britt you were right."

Rachel and Quinn went off to the restroom, while Sam and Mercedes headed to check out the food. Brittany, who had been bouncing up and down, grabbed Santana's arm and dragged her to the dance floor, where a bunch of costumed students were packed tightly together, dancing along to the music. Santana was a little nervous to see how the crowd would react- people tended to steer away from Brittany, but everyone was so caught up in the energy that nobody bothered to make it a big deal. Breathing a sigh of relief, Santana felt herself let loose a little bit. She linked hands with Brittany, jumping and spinning as the DJ played song after song. 

Her lungs were burning from the constant motion, but here, in the middle of all this chaos, with sweaty bodies pressing on all sides of her and her gaze glued to Brittany's, she'd never felt more alive.

* * *

The girls, who were both out of breath after 30 minutes of hardcore dancing, decided to take a break and try to find their friends. Brittany's hair had become quite disheveled during all that, and they paused a moment so she could yank the honey pot off of her head completely. The blonde tossed it in the corner and shook her hair, blonde strands flaring out as Santana watched carefully, her stomach tightening not unpleasantly.

"Hey San, I think I see Rach."

Santana turned to where Brittany was pointing, and sure enough, there was the brunette, holding a cup of punch and talking to none other than Noah Puckerman. Santana narrowed her eyes, unease settling in. Rachel looked highly uncomfortable, her body folding inwards as Puck slowly inched closer and closer to her. A quick glance at Brittany revealed that she was thinking the same thing and the two walked briskly towards the obnoxious boy.

Rachel's body sagged a little as she saw Santana and Brittany and she let out a tight breath. "Hello Santana. Brittany."

Santana cut straight to the the chase. "Is this asshole bothering you?"

Puck looked like he was going to protest, but wisely shut his mouth at the sight of the Latina's poisonous glare. 

"Nope, no problem here." Said the exasperating boy, folding his hands behind his back.

Brittany turned to Rachel, looking for confirmation. The shorter girl smiled shakily. "Noah was just talking to me. I'm fine, no problems here."

Santana didn't necessarily believe her, but she knew how stubborn Rachel was when she made up her mind. "Is there a reason you're pestering my friends, Puckerman?"

Puck scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest. "I was just going to invite Rachel," He glanced at Santana and Brittany nervously. "And, uh, any of her friends, to come outside with some of the football guys and cheerleaders."

Santana was skeptical. She knew these guys were probably bad news, but Rachel looked inclined to agree and she did need a breath of fresh air anyways. Besides, she figured even they weren't stupid enough to try anything with chaperones close by inside.

"Ok, we'll go with you."

Brittany looked a little upset. "I don't wanna go San, I think I'm just gonna stay in here and dance some more."

Puck looked relieved. Santana figured he probably had enough self-awarness to realize that bringing a princess to their "secret hangout" would likely put a damper on the mood. She was conflicted. She didn't want to leave Brittany alone inside, but she really didn't want Rachel going outside with any of those losers without someone with her. Brittany, realizing the dilemna, gave Santana quick smile. "I'll be ok here for a little bit San."

Feeling slightly guilty, Santana agreed and gave the blonde a fast hug before following Rachel and Puck out the gym exit quickly, while the teachers were distracted. The temperature outside was frigid, the product of cloudy England weather and the chill of late fall air. Puck fumbled on his steps a few feet in front of them, and Santana let out a quick laugh, her breath visible in the chilly air. 

Staying close to Rachel, she asked quietly. "Why'd you even want to go out here in the first place?"

Rachel coughed a little, glancing downwards. "I lost Quinn a while back and I was standing next to the punch bowl, minding my own business, when Noah and Finn came up, talking about how some of the more sports-inclined gentlemen and the cheerleaders were all congregating out here." She shifted uncomfortably. "I thought possibly Quinn had wandered outside."

Santana nodded, taking it all in. They followed Puck around a corner into the open yard behind the school. Nobody ever came out here, but it was fairly nice, and with the shape of the school, impossible to see from almost every angle. There was a fire going in the center of the grassy space they had staked out, and several upperclassmen wandered around, red plastic cups in their hands. 

Rachel glanced around, but there weren't many people out here and it became increasingly obvious with each minute that passed that Quinn wasn't out here. Puck had disappeared- where to, Santana didn't really care- and Rachel grabbed her arm. "I am beginning to see that I was incorrect about my suspicion that Quinn was out here." She paused, gulping at the students stumbling around and dancing messily. "Let's go."

The two of them turned to head inside, when a meaty hand landed on Santana's back, twisting them back towards the fire. Finn Hudson stood in front of them, eyes red and glazed over, and his breath reeking of alcohol.

Stuttering, he spoke. "Well, heyy thereah sexy ladies. Come and," He burped, laughing at himself. "Joinn da partayy!"

"Get lost Hudson." Santana's voice was firm, and she once again tried to turn.

Finn's grip on her shoulders tightened. "Aww, coomee on. That's noo way to talk to your friennds."

"You're not my friend man-boobs."

Finn looked angry then, as he stepped closer to Santana, fingers digging hard enough into her skin to bruise, his acrid breath in her face. "I'dd choose yourr next words-uh very carefully."

Santana normally wouldn't be afraid of an idiot like him, but he was drunk- therefore extra stupid- and something in his eyes made Santana very nervous. Opting not to say anything, she yanked his hands off of her body, grabbing Rachel's arm before pulling them away and back towards the school. Rachel looked near tears as they hustled back in through the side door.

As they entered the school, Santana breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Brittany standing with Quinn, Mercedes, and Sam, all of them looking concerned. As they neared them, Brittany reached out to Santana, and she gladly fell into her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rachel and Quinn doing the same. After a quick reunion, where Rachel and Santana filled their friends in on what they had missed, they all decided to head back to their rooms. None of them much felt like dancing anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked that chapter. I'm gonna be honest, it was hard for me to write this one, I just wasn't very inspired for it, but I hope it's still okay! It's been fun however to start introducing new characters and revealing more of other characters' backstories, so at least there's that. This is your last warning Finn fans, lol, this is definitely not going to be Finn-friendly, so don't read if you don't like that.
> 
> The next chapter will be another month time jump and we will be dealing with Rachel's birthday and the choir's winter showcase :)
> 
> Please comment and let me know what you think, it really helps motivate me to keep writing!


	5. baby, you're not dancing on your own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my longest chapters so far, at 3924 words! Enjoy!
> 
> Keep reading for some nonessential notes, or you can skip straight to the story:
> 
> We are halfway through 9th grade! (or I think Grade 10 in England?) 
> 
> On that note, I have basically zero idea how schooling works in other countries, but here in the US high school is 9th-12th grade. This probably isn't accurate, but just pretend they go to a school in England that is only for Grade 10 through Grade 13...
> 
> Anyways, I plan on doing 10 chapters per school year, for a total of 40 chapters. I may include a chapter for each summer, and then possibly an epilogue, but that's probably it!

November passed in a blur of school work as well as preparations for Christmas and other festivities. In England they didn't celebrate Thanksgiving- a fact that Rachel and Santana lamented over, both of them missing the familiar fall holiday and the turkey -or tofurkey in Rachel's case- dinner that went along with it. Their friends were sympathetic to their struggles, and on Thanksgiving snuck them some extra cookies from the dining hall that they ate in Quinn and Santana's room that night, laughing and enjoying each other's company.

Truth be told- not that she would ever admit it- Santana was a bit homesick, especially around the holiday times. Rachel was very vocal about how much she missed her fathers, but Santana would tell anyone who asked that she didn't care. When she'd tell them time and time again that she didn't miss her parents, she'd feel Brittany's unwavering glare in her back, burning through her lies. The Latina would avert her eyes and quickly change the subject.

It was now December, the grass outside was perpetually covered in a layer of snow, midterm tests were happening, and oh yeah, Rachel Berry's birthday was coming up. Santana rolled her eyes just thinking about how often the dwarf managed to bring it up in conversation. She would be 15 on the 18th, which was only two days away, and Santana had yet to pick out a present for the girl. She'd argued with Brittany many times over whether she actually had to get her one or not, but the blonde insisted that Santana had to pick something, something _nice_. 

The two were having the same argument for the millionth time, when Santana grumbled, "Isn't going to her stupid show present enough?"

Brittany gave her a steely glare, sighing in exasperation. "Santana, I've told you over and over, going to watch her sing is _not_ a present."

Rachel, by the terms of her scholarship- though Santana thought she would've joined anyways- was a part of Mckinley's show choir group, the New Directions, which were led by Mr. Schuester, one of the teachers at the school. Rachel had been begging all of their friends to join, but so far nobody had taken the bait. Quinn had considered it, but thought it might interfere with her cheerleading schedule. The New Directions were putting on a winter showcase the night before Rachel's birthday, and she had asked all of them to come and watch. Sam had agreed without hesitation- Mercedes was in New Directions anyways, though she didn't care if any of them came- as had Quinn. Santana had grumbled about it but finally agreed after feeling Brittany's sharp nudge against her side.

"Ugh fine. I need to talk to Ms. Pillsbury about heading into town then."

Brittany smiled, clearly pleased at Santana finally taking some initiative. "Great! Why don't you talk to Quinn? She still needs to get Rachel a present as well."

Santana knew Sam and Mercedes had ordered something online- damn couples getting to give one singular combined gift- but she hadn't realized Brittany had already picked something out. She looked at the blonde questioningly. "When did you get Berry a present?"

Brittany's eyebrows raised, her eyes going wide as she mimicked zipping and locking her lips, before 'throwing away' the key. She shook her head, indicating that she wasn't going to answer.

"Real mature." Santana rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, but she figured Brittany could see the hint of a smile threatening to peek through. "Whatever, if you're not gonna tell me let's just get back to studying." 

Brittany and Santana were both taking French classes- they wouldn't let Santana get away with taking Spanish here- seeing as she was already fluent- like they had in Ohio, so she had chosen French as her language instead. Brittany also already spoke Spanish- and several other languages fluently- but had according to her, she'd never bothered to learn French. Some of the languages she spoke- such as Dutch and Norwegian were rusty, as she only used them when talking to delegates from other countries. Santana's mind had been a bit boggled at that- she tended to push away the fact that Brittany was royalty. The girl certainly didn't act royal, and you'd never guess it unless you listened closely to the tiny adlibs of information she dropped about royal life into regular conversations.

For example, Santana had overheard a conversation between Brittany and Sam once about growing up in a castle and running through the hallways of Windsor Castle at every holiday or big event. They'd passed Windsor on the way to the school but Santana could hardly imagine actually _living_ there, let alone carelessly playing all throughout it. Brittany had promised to take her to visit sometime, describing with wonder in her eyes the beauty of the castle. Bringing her attention back to the subject at hand- conjugating verbs- Santana glanced down at her review sheet.

Brittany flipped open her book to the page they were studying. "Now then, where were we..."

* * *

It was the night of Rachel's showcase and Santana was starting to hate her more and more for forcing them to come to this. Unlike the Halloween Dance, this was a ticketed event, and while it didn't cost anything, there were a limited number of seats. Santana wondered how many people they expected would actually want to come to this event that they'd need to control the crowd size.

Quinn had helped Santana get dressed an hour earlier, stating that she needed to look nice. The blonde had dug through Santana's closet, a frown on her face as she assessed the options. She shook her head, before moving over to her own closet and picking something that she figured would fit the girl. 

Quinn and Santana, after doing their hair and makeup, had wandered down to the auditorium, where they were now standing in line waiting for Brittany and Sam. The girls stood talking quietly when Santana felt her skin prickle. She turned around to see Brittany bounding down the hall towards them, a grin on her face. 

"Hey guys!" She said, a bit breathlessly. She looked Santana up and down, sending the brunette's stomach ablaze. "Wow San, you look really pretty."

Santana's face flushed, as Quinn laughed at her response. She choked on her words a little, stuttering. "Thanks Britt. You look good too."

She really did look beautiful- like an actual princess. She was wearing a pink tulle dress that stopped at her knees, with a creamy sweater on top that Santana figured cost more than all of the clothes in her dresser at home combined. Santana was wearing a tight black skirt, borrowed from Quinn, and a black jeweled cardigan, which was actually hers. She had been excited to get to wear something other than a uniform- she had been starting to think that she'd brought all those clothes for naught.

"Has anyone seen my brother?" Asked Quinn, a bored expression on her face.

They all turned to Brittany, who shook her head apologetically. "I haven't seen him in a couple of hours."

Quinn scoffed. "That's my idiot brother for you. Always late."

The line in front of them had dispersed as people were seated in the auditorium. The performance was starting in a few moments, so they decided to head inside without Sam, figuring that it was his own problem if he was late. Quinn had been carrying everyone's ticket- Santana's because she didn't have a purse, and Brittany because Quinn had been worried she'd lose it. Stepping up to the wooden double-doors, they handed the usher their tickets and he took them to their assigned seats, near the front of the auditorium.

Sitting on the cold metal chairs, Santana wondered how long this was going to take. She was already bored, so she whipped out her phone scrolling through Instagram mindlessly. Brittany shot her a look, prying her phone out of her hands and handing it off to Quinn who put it in her purse. Santana scowled, crossing her arms. Brittany gave her an apologetic smile, holding up a pinky as a truce. Trying to stay mad, but failing, Santana interlocked her finger with Brittany's and let their hands drop in between them.

The lights flashed, signaling the start of the show. As the bright overheads dimmed, Santana heard quiet curses as Sam slid into the aisle seat. "Bloody old, these stupid chairs." He grumbled as the chair creaked with his weight. All three girls stared at him and Quinn opened her mouth to talk. Sam put a finger in front of his lips shushing her slightly. It was Quinn's turn to scoff as she turned her attention back to the stage, where Mr. Schuester had walked out.

He tapped on the microphone once, twice, producing a shrill ringing that echoed through the auditorium. Cringing, he cleared his throat and began speaking. "Hello fellow Mckinley Academy students and all who came to see the show tonight. We have composed a setlist for you folks this evening that I think you will find quite enjoyable. The students in this group will be singing a medley of holiday songs. The featured soloists tonight will be, in this order, Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones," Sam whooped, cheeks flushing as a couple of old people in the row in front of them turned around, shushing the boy. "and Rachel Berry!" Mr. Schuester paused for a moment, allowing the audience to clap politely. "Now, without further ado, I present to you, the New Directions!"

He walked off stage as the crowd clapped once more and the curtain pulled open. The group stood in a formation on stage, as the music started. Santana found herself bopping along to the beat as the first soloist, Kurt she assumed, broke out into song. Santana had to admit, his high voice was very well-suited for the song he was singing, 'The Little Drummer Boy'. As he held the closing note, the choir around him going quieter and quieter, the audience broke out into cheers. He bent over slightly, bowing to the audience before falling back into line.

The next song started up, a Christmas song that Santana didn't recognize, but had a nice melody, and did not have any solo parts. The entirety of the choir sang together, their voices blending and flourishing as the accompanying music rose and fell. As the song came to a conclusion, Mercedes moved forward to the center of the stage.

Her voice was strong as she sang the opening notes of 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'. Her voice was clear and some of the high notes she hit gave Santana chills. She knew the people around her were feeling it too, as Mercedes sang, Brittany squeezed her pinky tightly, entranced by the performance. Far too soon, Mercedes' song came to an end. All of them were off of their seats in seconds, on their feet, giving her the standing applause she deserved.

The New Directions sang a few more songs all together before it was time for Rachel's solo. Santana had to admit that the dwarf looked good on stage, it made her seem taller, bigger, even with her naturally small stature. Her back was straight as she met Quinn's gaze, waving softly and winking, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The orchestra slowly started playing, but they were merely the background for Rachel's singing. Her voice was crisp, every note perfect, as she sang 'White Christmas'. Santana was impressed. She knew Rachel could sing- she'd heard the girl brag about it countless times- but she'd never actually heard her sing like this before. As the closing note came, Rachel threw her arms up in the air, belting with all her might. The music came to an abrupt stop, as her arms dropped down to her sides, her head tilted downwards. Once again the crowd was on their feet, clapping and whooping.

Brittany was still holding onto Santana's finger, as she clapped her other hand against her thigh, cheering loudly for their friends. Santana hollered as well, feeling a swell of pride for her amazing, talented friends.

* * *

The night of Rachel's birthday, Santana, Quinn, Brittany, Sam, and Mercedes all gathered in her room to celebrate. Santana wasn't sure what they had done to get Rachel's roommate to leave, but all she knew was that she wouldn't be back for hours. Rachel was the oldest out of their friend group- the first to turn 15- though Quinn and Sam weren't far behind, their birthday being in February. Quinn had somehow managed to arrange for a cake to be delivered- one that she had gone out of her way to make was vegan. The group laughed loudly in her room, spread out and enjoying the cake- which was fairly good for being vegan.

Quinn and Rachel were sitting closely next to each other on her bed, Sam and Mercedes were on the floor leaning against the wall, Santana was sitting on Rachel's desk chair, and Brittany was sitting on the actual desk, next to her. A couple of days ago, Quinn and Santana had gotten a ride into town where they picked out presents for Rachel. Quinn had been strangely secretive about hers, not letting Santana see. She'd been a little miffed, but then again it was Quinn, and she found it best not to question her actions most of the time.

The energy in Rachels' room was a tangible thing, so much so that Santana wished she could bottle it up and save it for later. Everyone was laughing and music played in the background, as they traded conversations and friendly barbs back and forth. Santana glanced between these people- these remarkable people- and wondered how she'd gotten so lucky to have such amazing friends. Shaking her head gently to clear the sudden wave of emotions, Santana spoke up. "Hey Berry, you should open presents now."

Rachel looked up at Quinn, seemingly for permission, before jumping up excitedly, shaking the boxes that had been sat next to her and Santana scoffed under her breath. From above her, Brittany kicked her gently, muttering quietly. "It's her birthday San. Be nice!"

Santana crossed her arms but complied, she never was very good at going against Brittany's wishes.

"Which one should I open first?" Rachel asked, looking at the pile on her bed, which she had finally sat back down on.

"Open ours!" Mercedes said, leaning back against Sam and smiling softly.

Rachel reached a hand into the stack, squinting slightly as she read the labels on the box. Under her breath, she was muttering, searching for the one from Sam and Mercedes. Sitting up and straightening her back, she held up a present wrapped in gold paper as she spoke, her laugh twinkling through the air. "To Rachel, love Samcedes." She glanced at the couple, who were smiling as well. "I'm assuming that's you guys."

They nodded, looking eager to see what Rachel thought of their present. In true Rachel Berry fashion, she carefully unwrapped the paper, being painstakingly careful not to tear any of it. At the dubious glances from the other occupants of the room, Rachel protested loudly, defending her actions. "You never know when you might need good wrapping paper! And the styles change all the time, it can be hard to find patterns that you like." Seeing the still skeptical faces, she said, "Plus, it's better for the environment. The earth is heating up, you know!"

No one could really argue with that- and it was her birthday, no point in it anyway-, so they all agreed that Rachel was right, she should save it. She gently peeled off the last of the paper, unveiling a plain white box. Rachel pulled the top up and lifted off the tissue paper, gasping a little.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, holding up a black sweater with an embroidered golden star on the front. "This is perfect!"

Santana had to agree, it really was a perfect gift for the girl, who was already holding it up to her torso excitedly, turning to Quinn and showing it off. Thanking Sam and Mercedes, she gently set it back down in the white box, turning back to the stack of presents. "Which should I open next?"

Brittany excitedly waved her hand. "Open mine Rach!"

Rachel pulled a wide box from the stack, not having to check the label- the pink unicorn wrapping paper was telling enough. She undid the paper in the same precise manner as before, which left her with a shiny black cardboard box. She unfolded the top part, pulling out some bubble wrap and packing peanuts. Her eyes were wide as she pulled out a microphone, bedazzled with shiny pink rhinestones. The light from the ceiling caught on the crystal, reflecting scattered pink light all across the room.

Rachel jumped to her feet, moving to hug the blonde tightly. "Thank you Britt. I love it so much! It'll be perfect for when I put on concerts for you all!"

Everyone groaned in good humor. Brittany flushed a little, happy that Rachel was pleased with her present. "I heard you talking the first week of school about how you had a stage in your basement, but all of your dads' microphones were bad. I figured you deserved a microphone that's as magical as you are."

Rachel smiled again, thanking Brittany quietly once more before taking a seat on her bed again, bouncing a little on the mattress as she landed. Quinn and Santana looked between each other, silently battling out who would give Rachel their present next. In the end, Quinn was the one who spoke up. Her voice was soft, tone timid. "Open mine last Rach."

Rachel's eyes filled with understanding as she took the remaining two presents in her hands. "Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume the box labeled 'To Annoying Hobbit' is from the lovely Santana Lopez."

Santana shot her a saccharine sweet smile, sticking out her tongue a little bit and nodding. Rachel rolled her eyes, repeating her process of removing the sparkly black paper that covered the box Santana had given her. All of the unfolded wrapping paper was sitting in a pile on the floor, and if it was anyone else she'd highly doubt it'd ever be seen again, but knowing Rachel Berry, she'd probably give them all Christmas gifts wrapped in the stuff. The brunette pulled open the box, pulling the contents out.

"That's very thoughtful of you Santana." Rachel said, with a genuine smile on her face. She held up the gift, a faux (she had double-checked at the store) leather notebook labeled 'Songwriting" on the front. Her name was etched into the cover, with a small star next to it. Inside the box were also nice pens that matched the notebook, with stars all around them.

To be honest, Santana was a horrible gift giver, and she'd struggled to find something she thought Rachel would actually enjoy _and_ use. Quinn had been the one who had given her the idea. She'd frequently complained about how Rachel left random scraps of paper she'd been writing music on all over her room and Santana figured a notebook might help the girl be more organized.

Santana accepted Rachel's hug- it was her birthday after all- but didn't resist the urge to be just a little snarky. "Yeah whatever Berry. Let's hope you have some actual good ideas to write in there, not just sentimental crap."

Rachel shook her head, she was accustomed to Santana's particular brand of love and knew the girl was just putting up a front. "I'm not going to let your attitude spoil a perfectly wonderful night Santana." She softened a little. "But thank you again, Santana."

The Latina was busy picking at her nail polish, acting nonchalant, but everyone could see the small grin blossoming on her downturned face. After Santana's present, there was only one left. Quinn's. Santana looked up in interest, eager to see whatever it was Quinn had picked out, seeing as she and Rachel were best friends, she figured it would be something good. 

The box was small, about the size of a playing card, wrapped in shiny silver paper with a white ribbon tied around it. Rachel untied the ribbon, unceremoniously stringing it over Quinn's head as the blonde girl laughed. Her laugh came out a bit strangled though and she had begun to bite her nails, surefire signs that she was nervous about Rachel opening her present. Rachel ripped though the silver paper, to the disbelief of all those gathered in the room.

As she crumpled the silver paper into a ball, she shrugged. "It's not big enough to reuse."

The box was silver just like the wrapping paper, but Santana had a sinking suspicion that Quinn had simply painted over the original color. The blonde leaned over and whispered in Rachel's ear quickly, before dropping back down to a seated position.

"Hey!" said Brittany indignantly. "Secrets don't make friends!"

Everyone laughed, as Rachel nodded in response to whatever Quinn had said. She gently cracked open the box, being careful not to let anyone see what was inside. She pulled out a folded piece of paper, gently uncreasing the edges as she read. Her eyes filled with tears as she came to the end of the note, tenderly refolding it and placing it in her nightside dresser. She hugged Quinn tightly, whispering to her softly enough that no one else could hear.

Rachel wiped her nose, smiling softly and picking up the box again. She cracked it open a smidge, peering inside. Her brown eyes widened to the size of saucers as she turned to the blonde next to her. "Quinn!" She half exclaimed, half chastised. "This is far too much!"

Quinn merely smiled a weary, tired smile and wrapped a hand around the girl's arm, silencing her protests. Rachel looked inclined to start talking again, but instead burrowed her face in Quinn's body once again, hugging her tightly.

The rest of the group was left in confusion, as they watched the display unfold in front of them, not sure what to think. Mercedes regained her composure first, clearing her throat once. "So, umm, are you going to tell us what Quinn got you?"

Quinn responded for Rachel, a bright 'Nope' popping from her lips. Rachel untangled herself from the blonde, wiping away the second round of tears that had fallen. She spoke conspiratorially, trying to joke around a little. "I'm sure you'd love to see. But it's private, so too bad, so sad!"

Everyone laughed, accepting the fact that neither girl was likely to tell them, at least not at this current moment. Rachel stood up, flinging off bits of wrapping paper stuck to her. "This has been the best birthday ever. Thank you everyone!" They all said their obligatory 'you're welcomes' and Rachel spoke again. "Okay, group hug!"

They all groaned, but got out of their respective seats and pulled together. Santana found herself squashed between Brittany and Sam, their bodies pressing against either side of her. Shifting slightly, she turned her face towards the female blonde, pressing the front of herself into her warm skin. Brittany responded, sliding a hand down in between their bodies and linking their pinkies. Smushed in this group of people, with Brittany's pinky intertwined with her own, Santana felt nothing but love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure this is my fastest update yet lol... I posted chapter 4 yesterday (technically two days ago since it's now midnight, but oh well)! Anyways, I've had part of this chapter done for a while, but I wasn't happy with it so I tried to fix it. It's still not perfect, but hopefully it's okay.
> 
> Side note: Brittany's present to Rachel is a reference to BIOTA when she has a sparkly pink microphone. I'm not sure if any of you caught it or not, but I thought it'd be fun to give it a little bit of backstory :) (even if that episode itself doesn't quite fit into the timeline here haha) 
> 
> Another side note: I've been considering writing a few oneshots from Quinn's POV. It would cover more of her backstory, plus what she got Rachel for Christmas. Also, chapter 11 will include a very important part, which I'm not going to spoil, but some people might be interested in Quinn's POV. I haven't quite decided whether I'm gonna do it or not, but just be on the lookout ;)
> 
> As always, please comment and let me know what you think! All of your support really inspires me to keep writing.  
> Thank you!


	6. but i'm stronger than i ever was before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be an interesting one... lol. I think this is the first chapter with some angst, so I'm pretty excited about it. This is also the Christmas chapter, so that's always fun.
> 
> Trigger warning for some cursing and minor referenced homophobia in this chapter!
> 
> As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters; all mistakes are my own

Christmas was right around the corner, and the whole school was practically buzzing with excitement- with the exception of one particularly grumpy Latina. At least they were finally on winter break and didn't have to go back to classes until after the New Year. Students were allowed to go home for the holiday, but Santana had talked to her parents and they had agreed it was best that she just stayed over the break. She tried not to feel the sting of disappointment when her parents told her in no uncertain terms that she was not coming back to the US. Screw all those dumb Christmas songs that said there's no place like home for the holidays. 

Rachel was going back to Ohio for part of the break to visit her fathers. She had left the day after her birthday, the first day they had off. She would be back January 3rd and despite claiming that she wouldn't miss her, Santana couldn't help but countdown the days until the diva singer returned. Mercedes was going back to her hometown of Oxford for the entirety of the break, so she was out as well. Quinn and Sam were staying, as was Brittany, though all of them were headed to their respective homes- or castles, really- for Christmas day. Santana figured Christmas itself would be a letdown, seeing as how she'd be the only one of the friend group around on the 25th. Brittany had been really disappointed when her parents (Santana tried to ignore the fact that her parents were the freaking king and queen when Brittany said it) told her that she had to be there for Christmas day. The blonde had apologized over and over, promising Santana that she'd make it up to her. Santana brushed off her apologies, reassuring Brittany that she'd be fine.

Christmas was two days away, and already Santana was moping around. She slept in late the morning of the 23rd, mumbling curses when Quinn finally dragged her out of bed.

"Santana, seriously, all this wallowing is not good for you."

She grunted in response, not dignifying the blonde with actual words.

Quinn whacked her with a pillow, as she yanked the thick duvet over her head. "Get out of bed!" Quinn's voice was muffled through the down-filled blanket. "It's only like two days we're gonna be gone, don't be such a baby."

Santana sat up, pulling the blanket off of her face as she stood up and attempted to smooth the staticky hairs that were standing on end around her face. "You're calling _me_ a baby? Let's not forget how you refused to talk to anyone for days after Rachel left."

Quinn flushed slightly, dropping the pillow she'd been attacking the Latina with on the floor. "That's different!" She protested indignantly.

"Is it really? How so?"

In all honesty, Santana was wondering how it was different. She had a suspicion that things between Rachel and Quinn weren't entirely platonic, but she didn't really have any evidence to back it up, besides the excessive giggling and the amount of time they spent together- but those things could be purely friendly as well.

The blonde sputtered, searching for an answer. "It just is."

Normally at this point Santana would lay off her, but she was in a foul mood and felt like pressing the girl a little more today. If nothing else, watching her squirm would be a little bit of entertainment. "I don't know Quinnie, you two seem awfully close... Anything you wanna tell me?"

Quinn turned even redder, her face angry and eyes narrow. "Stay in your lane Santana. You don't know what you're talking about."

Santana smiled cruelly, her bitchy persona dropping into place like a mask. "I think I do know. And that's the problem, isn't it? You and Rachel, you're not being careful enough, eh?"

Quinn looked panicked, her eyes frantically bouncing around the room, her voice low and near a growl. "Shut the fuck up." Her breath quivered and for a moment Santana felt slightly guilty. But then Quinn spoke again, her words laced with venom. "If you wanna talk about people not being careful enough, I'd look at yourself for a good minute. Anyone with eyes can see the way you obsess over Brittany. It's a little sad if you ask me, the way you hang all over her, staring at her when she's not looking, hoping that she'll meet your gaze. Now _that's_ a 'problem'."

Santana felt the anger rush out of her, the truth seeping in for a second before denial broke through. Quinn was just trying to get in her head. Her and Brittany were just friends. Nothing more. She didn't _want_ anything more. She liked boys. She repeated that last sentence in her head over and over, some small, meek part of her tried to protest, but she stamped it down quickly.

"You know what, I'm glad you're leaving. Screw you, Quinn Fabray."

Quinn flipped her off, storming out of the room in a cloud of angry emotions. As the door slammed behind her, rattling the pictures on the wall, Santana dropped to a seated position, all the adrenaline draining out of her body at once. Her stomach felt oily with guilt. She hated that she got like this sometimes, like she couldn't control herself or what she said. Quinn was going to hate her forever and the worst part was that Santana didn't even blame her. She'd hate herself too. At the same time, she was angry about what the blonde had said. She knew Quinn was only saying it to defend herself, but she still said it. 

The brunette leaned back onto her pillows, tears running hotly down her cheeks. She wondered briefly where Quinn had gone. Probably to Sam's room. She groaned a little, oh god, Quinn was gonna tell Sam and Brittany and Mercedes and Rachel and then all of them would hate her and she'd have no friends here. Her breaths were choked as she came to terms with the fact that she'd ruined everything. It was all her fault. All because she couldn't control her emotions. 

Santana wondered if it'd be possible to get herself expelled. If she got expelled then she could go home and she wouldn't be here alone. She thought it was a great idea, for about half a second, until she pictured her parent's disappointed faces staring back at her. Now that visual was almost worse than losing all her friends. What was she going to do? A fresh round of tears sprung from her eyes as she weighed her two possible options.

She sat on her bed, staring mindlessly at the wall for more than a few minutes when a soft knock startled her out of her thoughts. Quickly wiping away her tears- knowing that her eyes were still puffy and red- she croaked hesitantly. "Who is it?"

There was a beat of silence and Santana really hoped it wasn't Quinn. "It's me, Britt. Can I come in?"

Santana dropped her head to her knees, groaning softly. "Okay."

The unlocked door swung open quietly, as the blonde entered the room. Santana could feel the hesitancy radiating off of her body. "San?" The girl asked quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She sat up slightly, not meeting the blonde in the eyes. "I take it you talked to Quinn."

Brittany dipped her chin slightly, nodding a little. The Latina flipped over onto her stomach, not able to look at the girl any longer. She was ashamed, made worse by the fact that she was sure Brittany was here to tell her that they couldn't be friends anymore.

"I talked to Quinn and she only told me a little bit about what happened. But she feels bad San, she told me to tell you that she's sorry."

Santana scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

Brittany tentatively laid a warm hand on the brunette's back. Her eyes shone with empathy, giving her the air of someone much older than 14. "Look San, I don't know exactly what happened, but Quinn told me that you were both in the wrong. I think you both need to talk it out and apologize."

"I can't apologize to her. I just can't. I screwed things up too badly."

Brittany smiled a little, imitating Santana's previous tone. " _I find that hard to believe._ "

"I'm serious Britt. Somethings just can't be fixed."

"And I'm serious as well. I promise you that if you just apologize everything will be alright. Quinn's a forgiving person." Her expression clouded, eyes darkening. "Sometimes a little _too_ forgiving, if you ask me."

The blonde shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "I know that you think everything's ruined, but it's going to be okay."

It was clear that Santana wasn't going to change her mind, at least not right now, so the blonde quickly switched topics. "I brought you a present."

Santana sat up, face peaked with interest, before quickly guarding her expression again. "What sort of present? It's not Christmas yet..."

Brittany smiled. "I know, but since I'm not going to be here, I figured I'd give it to you now."

Santana was hesitant, not sure what to think. "Okay... I'll open it."

Brittany blushed a little as she pulled two small gift bags out of her backpack that she'd been carrying around. "Technically part of it's for me as well, but it's mainly a gift for you."

A little confused, Santana accepted the bag that Brittany handed her. It was a pretty pink color with shiny magenta unicorns all over. Very Brittany-esque. She carefully pulled the white tissue paper out of the top of the bag and those big blue eyes stared her, watching her reaction. Inside the bag was a smaller white box, with Santana's name scrawled lovingly across it, a heart underneath.

Brittany picked at her chipped nail polish, urging Santana on. "Go ahead, open the box."

Santana pulled open the box gently. "Oh Britt." She sighed, pulling out the sterling silver bracelet. It was fashioned like a chain, with silver loops forming the bracelet and a shining silver heart charm engraved with a cursive 'S'. "I love it."

The blonde beamed, wasting no time unassembling the other bag and pulling out a matching bracelet, identical to hers except for the 'B' on the charm. "They're friendship bracelets!"

Santana smiled back, ignoring the quick flash of emotion she felt at the emphasis on the word friendship. She skillfully clasped the bracelet around her wrist, feeling the subtle weight. Brittany, who was attempting to put on her own bracelet, sighed a little, holding out her wrist sheepishly for Santana to clasp it for her.

The two girls held their wrists next to each other, pale next to tan, and stared at the bracelets momentarily. Santana leaned over and gave the blonde a quick, tight hug, thanking her once again for the present.

Brittany breathed deeply, eyes unreadable, and Santana knew she wasn't going to like what came next. "I think you should go try and find Quinn now."

* * *

She found Quinn nestled back in the far corner of the library, knees hugged to her chest as she sat scrolling through her phone in one of the oversized armchairs. As Santana approached the girl, her footsteps echoed in the relative silence of the massive room. The library was giant- and ancient- and Santana was convinced that Quinn was the only person who frequented it, other than the leathery old librarian who spent half the time she was here sleeping.

Santana tensed reflexively as the blonde looked at her, but her eyes were devoid of any emotion and her posture remained the same- no reactions showing that she was just as uncomfortable as Santana. Her spine was ramrod straight as she stopped in front of the blonde's chair. The matching footrest sat untouched a foot away from the chair itself and Santana dropped onto it softly.

For a moment the two just stared at each other. Hazel eyes met brown as Santana tried to convey her apology through telekinesis, which was working about as well as could be expected- which was to say, not at all. Sighing heavily, she dropped her head. "I'm sorry Quinn. I shouldn't have said those things about you and Rachel."

The blonde glanced away, clearing her throat. "And I'm sorry for what I said about you and Brittany."

The air was still tense between the two, but some of the weight on Santana's shoulders was lifted and she felt lighter- still not perfect, but better. Santana spoke again, feeling like she needed to apologize more to atone for her sins. "You didn't deserve the way I treated you Q. I'm sorry. I really hope you can forgive me. I promise never to joke about you and Rachel ever again, I know you guys are just friends."

Quinn looked desperate, her eyes pained and her breathing ragged. She whispered something too quietly for Santana to catch, her eyes lining with silver. Santana was confused. "What'd you say Quinn? I couldn't hear you."

The blonde pulled a pained expression, gathering her courage before speaking slightly louder, but still quiet enough that Santana had to strain to hear. "We're not just friends."

As the words escaped her lips, Quinn collapsed backwards, eyes closed as she nervously tapped her fingers against her legs. The words sunk in. Oh. _Oh._ Santana didn't really know how to react. Of course she'd seen the way they'd acted together, but she'd figured it was just friendly, even if she'd teased them about it. Slowly the pieces clicked together. The quiet shared laughter. The meaningful glances. The present on Rachel's birthday. Santana didn't say anything, not sure what the appropriate response was. She didn't care that they were both girls- well at least deep inside she didn't, on a more surface level she heard her Abuelas rants about how despicable gay people were and it certainly wasn't something they condoned in church, but she'd never agreed with those teachings. It was hard to ignore them though, all those times she'd heard it was wrong. But no. She knew it wasn't wrong, never would be wrong. 

Quinn mistook her silence for anger, or disgust, and quickly backpedalled. Her face was panicked, eyes wide and mouth parted. "You can't tell anyone. You're the only person I've told, not even Sam. Please Santana, even if you're angry, I can't- my father can't know. Please, please, please don't tell anyone."

Santana stood up quickly. "Hey, no, Quinn, calm down. I don't care, really, I'm happy for you. Of course, I won't tell anyone."

She moved to the blonde, sliding into the chair next to her and hugging her tightly. Quinn breathed a sigh of relief, quieting and finally breathing normally. Quinn spoke after a few moments, her voice soft. "Thank you, San."

The brunette, hugged the girl tighter, staring at the ceiling and picturing a different blonde girl next to her instead. "You're welcome Q."

* * *

On Christmas Eve, everybody (as in, all her friends) left for their own respective families. According to Brittany, Christmas Eve dinners were also non-negotiable, but all three of them- Sam, Quinn, and Brittany- would be back the morning of the 26th. Santana stood at the entrance to the school, waving goodbye as the blonde trio entered a fancy black town car and drove away. 

Closing the door, she huffed a sigh. It was only 2 pm and it was already shaping up to be a very boring 1 and a half days. The school was having a big meal for the few students who hadn't gone anywhere for the evening and they'd also have Christmas morning breakfast the next day. Supposedly parents could send presents to the school to give to their students, but Santana highly doubted her parents had purchased anything. There weren't that many students left- less than a hundred remained- and Santana had yet to see one of them. It was like a ghost town. She shivered slightly at the thought.

Resolved to not spend the entirety of the time holed up in her room, Santana headed to the first years' common room. Every grade had one, but Santana had only been in two other times, and both were just brief trips. The room felt large and extraordinarily empty without any other students studying at desks or chatting quietly near the fireplaces. She sat down on of the couches in front of the lit fire and scrolled through Instagram on her phone.

After leaving a few (mainly) nice comments on Rachel's recent posts from Ohio, she quickly got bored with seeing other people's perfect holidays. Snapchat was a bust as well- she hardly spoke to any of her old friends anymore and Rachel had left her on open. Feeling curious, she opened a new browser tab, hesitantly typing in the name 'Brittany Pierce'. Santana had never googled Britt before, not really caring what the internet said when she knew the girl in real life.

Instantly tons of information popped up, articles after articles about the blonde who was meant to one day inherit the throne. Apparently, Brittany's parents were fairly private about their daughter online, as there were very few pictures of her, besides a couple of baby pictures and some obvious paparazzi ones. Santana realized she didn't know much about the royal family, deciding to learn more as she opened the first tab- a website detailing the royal family.

_Queen Ruth ruled over England for over 40 years, after her parents- the former King and Queen- passed away in a car accident. Queen Ruth was a mere 20 years old when she ascended the throne. At the age of 27, she married Prince Consort Phillip and later had 2 children, Pierce and Russell. At age 67 she abdicated the throne to her eldest son, King Pierce, deciding that after her husband passed away she did not want to rule anymore. King Pierce married Queen Whitney at the age of 33, 2 years before becoming King. Their daughter, Princess Brittany Pierce, was born shortly after. Prince Russell, King Pierce's brother, is married to Princess Judy, the two of them taking the surname Fabray, rather than Pierce. Prince Russell and Princess Judy have two children, Lady Quinn Fabray and Lord Sam Fabray. The family also has some direct cousins with ties to the thrones in..._

Santana stopped reading as the articles moved on to other topics. She'd never given it much thought as to why Quinn and Brittany had different last names, and it still didn't make much sense, but at least she knew a little bit more now. She felt slightly guilty for reading about her friends online, but it would have been extremely awkward to ask them in person. She scrolled through the suggestions that had popped up again, ignoring anything that felt particularly gossipy- reading internet rumors about people she knew in real life was a line she just wouldn't cross. 

A throat clearing across the room drug Santana out of her internet-induced hypnosis, as she snapped her head up quickly. A boy- she figured her age if he was in this room- stared at her. He was the most flamboyantly dressed guy Santana had ever seen. He wore tight red pants, with a festive green sweater and large brooch. Around his neck was a smartly fashioned scarf and on his feet were shiny black dress shoes. Looking up at his round, baby-like face, Santana realized she _did_ know who he was. This was Kurt Hummel, one of the boys in the New Directions, the soloist with the really high voice.

Santana stared right back at him, shaking her head and raising her eyebrows as if to say 'you gonna say something?'. The boy stepped closer but kept his distance, eyeing her sweatpants and baggy shirt with disdain. He cleared his throat one more time. "Hello. I'm assuming you must be Santana." She nodded. "I was told to come to find you and inform you that it's time for dinner."

Santana glanced down at her phone in shock- how was it already dinner time? She stood up slowly, stretching her tired muscles as she followed Kurt out into the hallway. He waited for her to catch up before speaking. "You know, if you put some effort into your clothes you really wouldn't be so awful looking." His eyes raked over her body, not in a creepy way, but more as an assessment of sorts.

"Gee thanks." She replied sarcastically. "Just what I wanted. Fashion advice from a boy wearing an outfit that looks like it belongs to an elf having a midlife crisis."

The boy stared for a second, then laughed. "I like you Satan." She grinned at the nickname. "Eat dinner with me?"

* * *

Santana had spent the rest of the evening with Kurt and his friend Blaine, who he had quickly introduced her to. Blaine was from the United States as well, California to be exact, but he wasn't on a scholarship. His parents paid to send him here. The two of them were nice enough and interested in lots of the same things as her. Kurt knew a lot about music and they'd had a good argument over which of their favorite artists- Amy Winehouse, for Santana, and Diana Ross, for Kurt- were better. Blaine could relate to the struggles that she felt being so far away from home and it was nice to hear someone's perspective other than Berry.

The dinner was okay, nothing like what she assumed Brittany was having, but reminded her of home and made her sad in a wistful way. The school also handed out cookies as dessert, along with mugs of steaming hot cocoa. Santana had spent several hours with Blaine and Kurt, chatting away as the other students headed back to their rooms. Eventually, a teacher came and hurried them along to bed, anxious to get some rest herself. The group parted with words of farewell and promises to see each other soon.

The next morning- Christmas- Santana awoke to a quiet dorm, very different from Quinn's usual noise-filled morning routine. Outside her door, she was shocked to find that she had a few presents from her parents, along with a note. It was nothing special, just some basic 'we miss you' and 'have a good Christmas' type of stuff, but still, she couldn't help but miss them, and wonder what they were doing. She opened the packages, seeing that they'd gotten her some new books along with a nice new sweater and skirt set.

Overall, it was probably the most underwhelming Christmas of her life, but she found she enjoyed the calm and the free time that it had afforded her. Pulling on some fresh clothes, Santana walked to the cafeteria, meeting up with Kurt and Blaine for Christmas breakfast, wondering what the school was going to serve.

She walked towards Kurt and Blaine at a table near the front waving at them, a genuine smile on her face. She was happy to have made new friends, but she couldn't wait for tomorrow when Brittany would finally be back. That was going to be the best Christmas present of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I really, really do not like this chapter. I'm just not happy with the pacing and the general flow of it, but I really just wanted to get it over with. I've edited this over and over for the past two days, so this is as good as it's gonna get.
> 
> On a positive note, Faberry! I contemplated having Quinn tell Santana now, or later, but decided this worked better.
> 
> I hope you still managed to enjoy this chapter despite its flaws and let me know what you think!
> 
> Next chapter is New Year's Eve and we all know what happens when the clock strikes midnight ;)


	7. i can feel my body shake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update. My aunt passed away recently from Covid, so I've been dealing with that. On that note, please everyone wear a mask when you go out and stay home as much as possible. If you must go near others, socially distance. The pandemic isn't over just because you're tired of it.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter, there's some exciting stuff at the end! 
> 
> Important note, for the sake of the story, Tina and Kitty are in the same grade as everyone else.
> 
> As always, I do not own Glee or any of its characters; all mistakes are my own

"Tell me again why I agreed to help out with this?" Santana grunted, heaving a box full of decorations into the gym.

Brittany gave her a withering smile. "Stop complaining!"

"Hey!" The Latina protested indignantly, pulling her dark hair into a ponytail. "That wasn't a complaint it was a _question_."

The blonde shook her head, depositing her own box on a folding table near the gym doors that- judging by the way it was shaking- probably wasn't going to last much longer. Santana wiped the sweat off of her brow, sliding down against the wall and onto the wooden floor. Brittany tossed her a cold water bottle, which she accepted gratefully and quickly chugged.

When Brittany, Sam, and Quinn had returned from their Christmas party at the castle, none of them had much wanted to talk about it. Santana knew to leave certain things alone, so she didn't push any of them on it. The next morning after their return, Brittany had bounded into Santana and Quinn's room at the crack of dawn, excitement splashed all over her face as she informed a half-asleep Santana that she had signed them up to decorate the gym for the New Year's party. From her bed on the other side of the room, Quinn had laughed loudly and grumbled a few mainly incoherent words about the brunette being 'whipped' when she subsequently agreed to help out.

Santana really, really did not want to be spending several of her precious off days decorating for a stupid party she didn't even want to go to, but one look from Brittany with those big blue eyes and pleading smile had done her in. _Damn_ , maybe she was whipped...

It was the day of the party, New Year's Eve, and despite the planning they'd done over the past couple of days, decorations were only just now being set up. The rest of the committee for decorating would be arriving later to help, all of them citing prior obligations as the reason why they couldn't arrive earlier, but honestly Santana thought they just didn't want to be in charge of the moving decorations to the gym- the worst part- and wanted Brittany and Santana to do it all. Not that she could blame them- if she had the choice she wouldn't be helping either. 

"I think that's the last of the boxes."

Santana surveyed the cardboard boxes they'd carried from the storage closet- which was of course on the other side of the school- to the gym. "Well, I sure as hell hope so. There's no way I'm carrying anymore into this gym."

Brittany glanced around the room, her blue eyes shooting furtively at the door, before she ran into the center of the room, rubber soles squeaking against the polished wood. Tossing her arms up in the air, she gracefully pirouetted around the open space, leaping and twisting to a beat inside her own head. Santana smiled, watching her dance and taking it in, casually leaned back against the wall. The blonde ended with a complicated-looking maneuver, her one leg extended behind her body.

Laughing, Santana clapped her hands, the noise echoing through the empty gym. "Simply wonderful!" She said, a faux-french accent lilting her words as she walked towards Brittany, who was smiling happily.

As she reached the center of the room, Brittany reached out for her, her slender fingers wrapping comfortably around Santana's wrist, pulling her towards her. Santana stumbled forward, a pink blush dusting her cheeks as she regained her footing. Brittany's eyes were deep- blue like the deepest ocean, waves reaching out and threatening to whisk her away- and staring into them was like an answer to all of life's questions. Brittany was pure life, her energy something tangible, real, and every aspect of this heartwrenching girl standing in front of her threatened to take her breath away, shock her into true happiness like she'd never felt before. 

Brittany released the Latina's wrists gently, and she found she missed where her hands had touched her skin. The blonde smiled, pushing a few stray hairs out of her face. "Let me teach you to dance."

* * *

The private dance lessons, as Brittany had jokingly referred to them, had gone fairly well, at least as well as could be expected. Santana had been a cheerleader, so she had at least some experience with dancing. Brittany though, she was miles above where Santana could ever hope to be. The pair had twisted and turned all around the gym, landing in a jumbled heap when Santana had misstepped at one point. Their laughs bounced off the walls and around the room as they dusted themselves off and stood up.

"I'm gonna have to start charging you for lessons!" Brittany teased, combing her fingers through her hair.

Santana scoffed. "Please. It's an honor to even be allowed to teach me."

Brittany smiled, giggling as she yanked off her sweatshirt. "Is that so?"

"Uhuh. Yep." Santana frowned playfully. "Plus I don't have any money."

"I guess you'll just have to find some other way to pay me back."

Both girls blushed as the implications of that statement set in. Brittany looked ready to explain herself, embarrassment evident on her face. Santana for her part felt _hot._ Her stomach lurched and her face heated as her mind went to several different places without her permission. Neither girl had a chance to speak before the sound of students chattering filled the hallway outside the gym doors. Surprised, Santana glanced up at the clock on the wall nearest to her, shocked to see it was already 4 pm, the time the other decorating students were coming to help set up for the party. Santana subconsciously stepped away from the blonde, and her heart squeezed as she saw Brittany visibly flinch, body folding in on itself, out of the corner of her eye. 

Quickly recovering, Brittany brightened and walked towards the group of students- 6 to be exact- and began explaining where they had put boxes. Santana stared at her as she moved, feeling a complicated whirlwind of emotions at the sight of the tall blonde. She sighed in resignation, lugging herself towards the group and mentally preparing herself for several hours of decorating, which she hadn't even wanted to do in the first place.

She forgot about her discomfort, embarrassment fading into a need to protect Brittany as she saw the wide-eyed, and somewhat awe-filled, glances towards the blonde from their peers. Santana guessed it was probably different for those who actually lived in England. To Santana, sure it was still intimidating being so close to royalty, but she'd come to learn that if you looked past the titles, they were just regular teens- weird and somewhat screwed up just like every other 14-year old. However, Santana understood that for those who lived here regularly, Brittany was intimidating because of the weight of her future. She would one day be their Queen and who wants to upset the person with basically the highest amount of power in the country, right? But still, that didn't mean everyone had to get weird and fidgety around her, she half-expected one of the students to start bowing or offer to carry her around or something stupid like that.

Brittany took it all in stride, used to people's reactions. She grabbed a clipboard off the table, flicking through the pages and mumbling quietly. Everyone stared at her with bated breath, waiting for what she was going to say.

"Alrighty," Brittany began, voice light and airy. "Artie, you're on unpacking duty with Kitty-" The blonde's brow creased slightly as she frowned and muttered under her breath. "Weird. She doesn't really look like a cat..." She shook her head jumping back into her sentence and ignoring the bewildered faces of those around her. "-and you two are gonna sort stuff from the boxes into different categories." She stopped reading for a moment, directing a bespeckled boy in a wheelchair and a particularly bitchy looking blonde towards a corner. "Ok, Tina, Mike, you guys can hang the streamers. Margaux and Constance, I want you two to string lights, and Santana and I will arrange tables."

Everyone simply looked back and forth at each other, making no move to do the things she had said. Santana felt irritation creep up her spine. It was one thing to be scared of Brittany- but it was a whole nother to blatantly ignore her like that. Santana spoke loudly, waving her hands. "Hey! Are you all deaf? She told you what to do. Now get to it!"

All the students moved at once, stepping away and finding anywhere to look but at the Latina. Brittany sighed slightly, turning towards the brunette dejectedly. "Thanks, San." 

Santana smiled a quiet, reserved smile. "Of course Britt-Britt." The blonde smiled at the nickname and Santana wanted nothing more than to make that smile a permanent fixture on her face. Raising her eyebrows teasingly and tilting her head, she spoke quietly so only Brittany could hear. "We can count that as my paying you back for the 'lesson'."

Brittany's blue eyes glinted deviously. "Nope, that's not good enough!"

Santana groaned in good humor. "Man, remind me never to take classes from you again! Your prices are way too high!"

Brittany laughed, eyes twinkling, and once again everything was right in the world.

* * *

The party was a success, at least so far. Santana's arms were sore from shoving tables around the gym all afternoon and directing seemingly clueless other students on where to put decorations, but she had to admit it looked really good. The overhead lights were turned low, the fairy lights twinkling prettily around the top of the walls. The tables had been covered with white tablecloths and fake candles- Brittany had wanted real, but after knocking more than one lit candle over and almost burning down the gym, administration had nixed it- and from the ceiling hung Happy New Years' streamers. One of the teachers had pulled in a projector and was projecting onto the wall a countdown until midnight. At the far end of the gym, next to the snacks and drinks, was a small dance floor with speakers playing music softly.

This party was very different from the Halloween party- for one thing, there were about half as many students attending this party. Brittany and Santana were obviously in attendance, as were around 50 other students. Quinn was not among them, the girl declining Brittany's numerous invitations to join them. Santana figured it had something to do with Rachel still being in Ohio.

There were about 30 minutes left until midnight and Santana could feel the excitement in the air as students buzzed around, drinks in hand, preparing for the clock to hit 12:00. Personally, Santana didn't care much. She figured next year would be exactly the same as this year- boring and mainly uneventful, minus the whole moving to England thing. 

Sitting at a table with 2 other teenagers, Santana stirred her drink mindlessly as she watched Brittany dancing on the dance floor. Not many people were dancing, but the blonde had been on the shiny black floor all night, managing to drag Santana out with her a few times. Santana felt the air shift next to her as someone dropped heavily into the open seat at her right. 

She turned, sticking her nose up and crossing her arms. "Puckerman."

Puck smiled at her, drinking from his water bottle and cringing slightly. "Well hello there Lopez. You wanna be my midnight kiss?"

Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes. She could smell the booze on his breath from a mile away. "Like hell is my mouth ever getting anywhere remotely close to yours."

Puck pouted, feigning sadness and giving her fake puppy dog eyes. "Ah, shoot. It was worth a try." He waggled his eyebrows. "Just know you're missing out."

"I find that very hard to believe."

The boy acted offended, puffing up his muscles and flexing in front of her, before laughing good-naturedly. "Even if you're not gonna kiss me, you want some of this?" He tipped his bottle a little, sloshing whatever liquid was inside around.

Santana thought for a moment, her mind going back to the prospect of a midnight kiss, and images of Brittany flooding her brain as she quickly tried to shut them out. "Ok, sure whatever."

Puck grinned, carefully pouring the clear liquid out of his bottle and into her cup of punch. Santana glanced around nervously, but all of the teachers were at the food table on the opposite side of the gym. She took a deep breath- the scent of strong alcohol alone told her it was probably vodka he'd poured into her cup. She swished her drink around mixing the punch and the vodka together before taking a tentative sip. Her eyes watered and her throat burned as the combination slid down her throat. "Damn, that's strong."

Puck shrugged, drinking pure alcohol out of his bottle. Santana figured his liver must be pretty bad for a 15-year-old if he could take a shot of vodka that effortlessly. The two sat in an easy silence for a few minutes, the world- and her thoughts- becoming slightly fuzzier with each sip of her drink. Eventually Brittany, tired from all her dancing, made her way over to the table.

She eyed Santana and Puck suspiciously and Santana sat up straighter. "Hey Britt." She said, trying to focus.

Brittany frowned a little, sniffing lightly. "Are you drunk Santana?"

She protested, affronted. "Of course not!" She dropped her eyes to the table. "Only a little tipsy."

She was worried the blonde was going to be mad at her for drinking, _especially_ for drinking anything Noah Puckerman had to offer, but the girl merely sat down next to Santana and with a wry smile, asked Puck if she could have some as well.

Puck happily poured some vodka into her soda can, taking a swig from the water bottle as he pulled it back. Brittany made a face. "You're drinking out of the same bottle you're pouring out of? Gross. I hope I don't get any of your backwash."

Puck, closed his eyes propping his feet up on the table. "Hey babe, beggars can't be choosers."

Brittany sighed, agreeing with him, taking a gulp of her drink which she swallowed down with a barely concealed cringe.

* * *

Only a few more minutes had passed and both Brittany and Santana were significantly buzzed. Puck had left at some point, topping off their cups and heading towards the exit doors to do God knows what. Santana reached for her cup and missed, knocking her hand into the side of it and effectively spilling most of the contents down her front. 

"Shit!" She exclaimed, jumping up out of her seat, any buzz from the alcohol pushed to the side. "That's cold!"

Brittany had stood up as well, gathering some napkins and attempting to wipe up everything that had spilled before any teachers came wandering around to see what the commotion was. "You're gonna need to go change San, or the teachers are gonna smell the vodka on you and then you'll get in trouble and you'll have to leave the school..." Brittany's eyes teared up and Santana quickly assured the girl she'd be fine.

"I'll just run back to my dorm real quick and get changed."

Brittany nodded, scrunching the dirty napkins into a ball and chucking them into a trash can. "Ok, but don't take too long. There are only 15 minutes until midnight."

Santana promised to be back before then, giving Brittany a hug- careful not to get her wet- before slipping out of the gym and into the hallways towards her room. 

Trying to find her dorm- even after several months at Mckinley- was a feat in and of itself when she was sober, and the buzzing in her head from Puck's vodka iswas certainly not helping. By either luck or sheer force of will, Santana found herself outside her room and she quickly barged in, causing Quinn to yelp in fear.

"Sorry Q." Santana mumbled, not bothering to shut the door behind her as she yanked off her soiled shirt. Quinn stared at her, hazel eyes wide, her computer open on her bed. From the screen came a particularly annoying voice and Santana groaned when she realized it was Rachel.

"Santana?" Rachel's tinny voice echoed through the speaker. "What are you doing?"

She stumbled a little as she rooted through her dresser, trying to find something new to wear. Slurring her words, she yanked out an old t-shirt she mainly slept in and pulled it down over her bare abdomen. "S-sorry dwarf. I'll let you get back to-uh sexting with Q in uh minute."

"Have you been drinking Santana?" Rachel's tone was accusatory and Santana could just picture the look on her face- her brows furrowed and arms crossed tightly over her chest- a look that she had become very familiar with over the past few months.

"I second that question." Quinn finally spoke, leaving Rachel and moving over to the Latina, her lip curling up as she grabbed the brunette's wet shirt off the ground and tossed it half-haphazardly into a hamper. 

Santana scoffed. "I'm not drunk!" She stalked towards the bathroom, tripping over her own feet and almost landing on the ground.

Rachel's voice rang out again. "I find that very hard to believe. Drinking at such a young age is bad for your brain development and research shows that those who drink as teens are more likely to become alcoholics in the future!"

"Whatever Berry, I'm not going to become a damn alcoholic. Besides, my brain's already fully developed."

Rachel began to protest, getting cut off by Quinn gently telling her just to let it go, there was no use arguing. Quinn shook her head tiredly, fed up with Santana's antics. "Just go back to the party. There are only 3 minutes until midnight."

Somewhere in her brain, past the alcohol-induced haze, bells were ringing. _Oh shit._ Brittany would never forget her if she missed the countdown to 12 o'clock. Grabbing a sweatshirt off of her bed and sliding it onto her body, she yelled a quick goodbye at Quinn and Rachel, running out of the room with a start.

"Hey!" Quinn called after her. "You forgot your shoes!"

Santana ignored her, heading down the carpeted halls and silently cursing to herself with every misstep, stumble, and passing second. _Shit, shit, shit._ She glanced down at her phone, intending to text Brittany when she remembered the blonde didn't have a phone. Trying to keep her bearings straight, she took turn after turn, crossing her fingers she was headed in the right direction. Checking the time, she saw that it was already 11:59. It seemed time moved quicker when she was drunk. Or maybe she was just moving slower... Turning off her phone and shoving it in her pocket, she collided with a warm object, sending her straight to her ass on the floor. The thing she had run into- the person- laughed, sliding down to sit next to her.

"Brittany?" Santana said, eyeing the blonde next to her.

"Santana!" She exclaimed and Santana could smell the vodka on her breath, which she was sure the blonde could also detect on her own. "I thought you were gonna miss the countdown, so I came to find you!"

Santana's face heated up. "Sorry, Britt."

She flung a hand over her eyes. "It's no big deal. Have the lights always been this bright?"

Santana couldn't help the guilt pooling in her stomach. "I know you wanted to pop the little confetti things. I'm sorry."

Brittany smiled at her. "Stop apologizing San. I told you it's okay."

Santana clicked on her phone, pulling up a clock website. It was counting down from 7, and the two girls joined in, their quiet voices echoing down the halls.

"6,5,4,3..." Brittany scooted closer to Santana, linking their pinkies together and meeting her stare, blue eyes locked on brown. "2,1..."

Together they both yelled out, "Happy New Year!"

Brittany's gaze flicked from the brunette's lips back up to her eyes. Santana felt heat pooling in her stomach as the blonde looked her over, leaning in closer. Her breath was hot against Santana's ear as she whispered quietly. "I know how you can pay me back for the dancing."

"Really? How? I'll do-"

The blonde cut her off, smiling slightly. "Just be quiet."

Santana gulped and Brittany leaned in, pressing their lips together gently as Santana's entire body threatened to explode. It was like fireworks were going off inside her, setting every nerve on edge and lighting them up, her entire being practically vibrated with energy as the blonde deepened the kiss slightly, lips working against her own. In the distance, she could hear kids yelling in excitement for the new year, but all the Latina could think about was every place their skin connected and how she wanted more, more, more.

Finally- and sadly, if you asked Santana- Brittany pulled away, nervousness etched on her face as took in what she had just done. 

Santana smiled, still rattled, but in the best possible way. "Looks like I got my midnight kiss after all, huh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Exciting stuff, finally a kiss! For those of you who like slowburn, don't worry we're certainly not done yet ;) There's still a while to go before any real relationship... if you don't like slowburn, sorry!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please let me know, it really means a lot to hear your guys' feedback!


	8. but honey, can't run this show on your own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter: Mentions of previous physical/emotional abuse! I will add warnings into the tags as well.
> 
> Sorry this took so long to get up! I've been having a bit of a writer's block, but I'm fairly happy with how this turned out so hopefully you enjoy it!

"I really need to stop staying in the common room so late." Santana chuckled, rubbing her tired eyes mindlessly as she walked back to her room. "I'm always so tired first period and you know how bitchy Dr. Hampson is in the mornings."

Kurt smiled, hands grasping his coffee mug as he took a long swig, looking at the brunette. His voice took on a faux-whine as he teased her, reminiscent of a toddler. "But if you didn't stay past midnight, who'd be there to help me with my homework?"

She rolled her eyes, scoffing lightly. "Oh please. Like you actually do any homework. All you could talk about all night long was," Santana grinned, her tone lilting and becoming sing-songy. " _Blaine_."

Kurt's cheeks colored as he stuttered a little. "Oh, would you look at that! We're at your room! Goodnight Santana!"

He took off down the hall quickly, ignoring Santana's comments about him being in _loooove._ Santana laughed to herself, tired but happy. Kurt had become one of her good friends ever since Christmas and the two frequently spent evenings, after everyone else had gone to bed, together in the common room. Technically they had a curfew- but one snappy comment from Santana typically got the teachers to back off. She fumbled with the doorknob, frowning as she wondered why it was locked. Dorm room doors had locks on them, but nobody ever really used them. She yanked a key out of her backpack- luckily she had it with her- and unlocked the door, stepping in and pulling it shut behind her.

Turning towards the beds she called out. "Quinn? Why is the door-"

Her face burned as Rachel jumped up, brushing a hand through her wild hair. "Hello, Santana!"

Quinn was just as flushed as Santana, her eyes closed as she groaned in embarrassment. Luckily for everyone in the room, both Rachel and Quinn were still fully clothed- though seemingly not for much longer if Santana hadn't entered when she did.

Santana stuttered, moving around wildly as she fumbled for the appropriate response. "Um- Sorry, to uh interrupt. I'm just gonna- um go uh see what Britt's doing."

She half-covered her eyes, speeding out of the room and down the hallway towards Brittany's dorm. She figured the blonde would still be awake and she didn't have to worry about bothering her roommate since the school had opted not to give her one- assuming she'd just rather have her own room. That made Brittany's room the ideal place to hang out and their friend group often spent several hours just chilling out there. The two hadn't really talked about what had happened between them on New Year's Eve, brushing it off as a drunken mistake- even as Santana tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach every time she thought about the way their lips had pressed together and it felt so _right._

As she approached the blonde's door, Santana took a few steadying breaths, her hands on her knees as she chuckled incredulously. She rapped on the door, trying not to make too much noise as she shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. The door creaked open slowly and Santana stepped in without waiting for Brittany to speak. The blonde was pajama-clad in a pink and purple sleep set, a toothbrush dangling from her lips, as she moved aside wordlessly and let the brunette in.

* * *

After what she hoped was enough time for Quinn and Berry to finish whatever the hell they were doing, Santana waved goodbye to a yawning Brittany and braced herself to return back to her own dorm. It was already past one am, and the lights in the hallway were dim as the Latina padded down the corridor, trying to walk as silently as possible to avoid drawing the attention of any of the school's staff who might be inclined to give her detention.

She grimaced as she approached the door, knocking hesitantly- having learned her lesson about barging in- and waited for Quinn's voice to give her the all-clear. Santana turned the knob, eyes squeezed shut as she slid into the room.

She could practically hear Quinn's eyes rolling as she spoke. "I promise it's safe Santana. Rach left like 30 minutes ago."

Santana opened her eyes, relieved to see that Quinn hadn't been lying to her. She moved to get ready for bed, ripping a brush through her tangled hair. Quinn sat up, crossing her legs and dropping her chin to her hands, elbows propped up on her knees. "Are things gonna be weird between us now?"

Santana cringed, she didn't mean to make Quinn uncomfortable. She sighed, dropping down on her bed. "No... It's fine. I'm fine." She smiled slightly, teasing the girl. "I still don't know what you see in Berry though. From what I saw, she can't be that good of a kisser."

Quinn groaned, tossing a pillow at the brunette who dodged it, standing up and stepping towards the bathroom instead. She washed her face and brushed her teeth quickly, tired from staying up so late, and grunted as she finally fell back onto her bed. Quinn slid under her own covers as well, hitting the light switch and plunging the two into darkness.

Despite her exhaustion, Santana couldn't stop the questions that were gnawing at her brain. She lay restlessly for a few minutes, before turning over onto her side, facing Quinn's bed. She whispered quietly into the blackness, "Quinn? Are you awake?"

For a second there was only silence before her voice sounded out from across the room. "Yeah."

Santana swallowed, not sure how the blonde would react. "I know you don't like to talk about him, but why is so important your dad doesn't find out about you and Rachel?"

The air was pregnant as Quinn shifted in bed, the silence between them heavy. Santana figured she wasn't going to answer, when a small voice rang out. "When I was seven years old, I overheard my dad telling my mom that he didn't love us, not the way a father should. He's always been an angry person, my dad. He resented Uncle Pierce- Brittany's dad- from the time they were children, simply because he was older and would one day become king. It was something neither could control, but spending 18 years in the shadows of Uncle Pierce's spotlight made him spiteful."

Quinn paused, her voice shaky. "The only reason he had kids is because Uncle Pierce and Aunt Whitney had been talking about having a child as well. Babies in the royal family bring lots of media attention and of course, my father needed to upstage them in that regard. From the moment Sam and I were born, he never loved us, not a day in our lives. When we were really little he'd just sit and stare at us, like he had no idea what to do, like we were aliens."

Quinn had stopped speaking again, and gently Santana prodded her on. "That's awful Q. But... what does that have to do with you and Berry?"

Quinn swallowed loudly, taking a breath. "When I was 6, I told my dad that I thought a girl in a movie was pretty and that I wanted to marry her." She chuckled darkly. "I've never seen him so angry. He was yelling and throwing stuff, telling me that I would be a disgrace to the family name and that it was a _sin_. He told me never to say anything like that again. I was crying at that point. I told him I didn't understand why I couldn't like a girl, I mean I was little. I didn't know why he was so upset, so angry... Let's just say I learned my lesson. I've got the scars to prove it."

Santana sucked in a sharp breath. "Are you serious Q? He... _hit_ you?"

Quinn sighed. "That wasn't the first time, nor the last, but it was probably the worst. My father 'copes' with his demons by drinking them away, and he's an angry drunk. When we were younger I got the brunt of it, but Sam got hit a few times as well. It wasn't just hitting with hands you know? It was belt buckles, wooden spoons, hell, he even threw a chair at me once."

"Jesus Quinn. I don't even know what to say to that? Does your mother know? Can you call the police or something?"

"My mother knows, she just doesn't have any sort of backbone to stand up to him. And bringing it to the police would be the worst thing I could do. My father has enough money to bury anything he doesn't want to be seen, and anyways I don't need that sort of scrutiny on my family." Her voice wavered, cracking. "Awful or not, they're all I've got."

Santana's throat felt thick as she spoke again. "You've got your friends here Q. And you've got Sam and Britt. You have more than just your mom and dad."

Quinn's voice had gone steely as she addressed the brunette. "I know. But they're parents. Nothing will change that fact. That's why no one can find out about Rachel and me. If it gets back to my father, I don't even know what he'll do. But Rachel's worth it." Her formerly hard voice cracked. "I love her." She breathed deeply, seemingly done speaking for the night. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed now."

Without another word, the blonde rolled to face the wall, silence filling the room once again as Santana sunk into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The next morning, neither Quinn nor Santana mentioned what the blonde had admitted the prior night. But Santana could feel the way the energy between them had changed, the way things would always be different now. They were eating breakfast, Santana listening half-heartedly as Brittany spewed on and on excitedly about a dream she'd had the other night. Her main focus was on Noah Puckerman, who was sitting across the room from her, munching on an apple as he stared at Santana, eyes narrowing as she stuck up her middle finger at him.

She grinned at his expression, poking out her tongue, and turning her attention back to the conversation at the table. Somehow she'd gotten roped into a debate with Rachel over whether liking Broadway made you a nerd or not when the air shifted beside her and all sets of eyes at the round table caught on Puck who'd sat next to her. His posture was casual, relaxed even, as he leaned back against the rounded edge of the table, his feet crossed out in front of him.

"What do you want Puckerman?" Santana's tone was acidic, she had no desire to converse to Puck, especially not after the heaviness of last night's talk with Quinn.

He held up his hands in faux-surrender, clicking his tongue twice. "Woah, calm down there, _Lopez._ I just wanted to know if you were interested in studying together sometime."

Santana scoffed, disbelief filling her face. "Like you've ever studied anything in your life, Puck."

The rest of the table watched in silent attentiveness, their heads bobbing back and forth between the two as if they were watching a riveting ping pong match. 

Puck looked her over once, eyes raking down her body slowly. Santana felt herself squirm under his attention, snapping her fingers next to her face. "My eyes are up jerkwad."

For his part, Puck looked a bit sheepish. "Well, I was thinking this weekend we could go down to the school cafe, grab some coffees, _study._ " He waggled his eyebrows in a way that Santana assumed made him think he looked like hot-shit, but really just made him look extra stupid.

Realization dawned on her, followed closely by a barely masked horror. "Wait. You want to go on a... date?"

Puck nodded and Santana felt conflicted. Conflicted because she knew at some point or another she'd have to date some guys if she wanted to keep up her reputation, but also conflicted about the way she could feel Brittany's gaze boring into the side of her head. Maybe it was the fact that if she let her mind slip she could feel Brittany's lips pressed against her own, maybe it was the way that that one kiss had illuminated her entire body and made her anew, maybe it was the voice of her Abuela cutting into her thoughts and yelling about how homosexuality was a sin... Whatever it was, it was enough to propel her into an answer, whether she'd regret it or not. "Okay."

Puck looked bewildered, his eyes wide. "Okay? Really?"

Santana found herself suddenly annoyed with him, with the way he was so _boyish_. She was regretting agreeing already. "I said okay, didn't I? Friday night, 7 pm. I'll meet you outside of the cafe."

Puck nodded, getting to his feet, his face still shocked before he realized everyone at the table was still staring at him. He quickly slid a cocky grin back onto his face, as he sauntered away with a practiced smoothness.

Sam recovered first, grabbing Mercedes's hand as he finished chewing. "You're really going to go out with Puck?"

Mercedes nodded. "I second what Sam said. Are you positive you actually want to do that?"

Santana shrugged, avoiding the questioning gaze of everyone at the table, but specifically of a certain blonde. She took a bite of her food, trying to appear unbothered. "Sure. I mean why not?"

Rachel spoke up, eyes narrowed. "I could think of several very good reasons for you not to date Noah, Santana! Do you want me to make you a pros and cons list? I could try, but it's possible the cons side will be exceedingly longer than the pros, and for good reason! You can't date Noah!"

Santana held up a hand. "Chill, Berry. I'm not dating Puck, I'm going out with him, there's a difference. Besides it's not really your place-" She glanced around the table meeting everyone, including Brittany's, eyes. " _Any_ of your's place- to tell me what I can and can't do."

Quinn finally commented, trying to reason with the girl. "We know it's your choice Santana, but it's a bad idea. _Noah Puckerman_ is a bad idea. Trust me. I've known him long enough."

"Really Quinn, I don't care what you think of him. I'm bored and I _wants_ to get my mack on."

Quinn grimaced, lips pursing as she tried to shake the image out of her mind. "You know what, you do whatever you want Santana. Just don't come crying to me when it inevitably backfires."

Santana nodded, dismissing the girl's concerns before bracing herself and turning to Brittany, the only one who hadn't given her two-cents. Brittany evaluated her silently for a moment, those big blue eyes seemingly trying to peer into her mind.

She looked away after a moment, back at her food, before returning them to the Latina's face. Her voice was quiet and resigned as she voiced her opinion. "I think it's a good idea."

Everyone sputtered, Rachel- in her ever dramatic ways- going as far as to literally do a spit take with the milk she'd been drinking. Quinn patted her back reassuringly as the girl wiped her face and surrounding areas. 'I'm sorry, what? Brittany, even you have to know that Santana going out with Puck is a recipe for disaster. It'd be like Ariana Grande trying to sing a Barbra Streisand song!"

The blonde nodded, handing Rachel her extra napkin. "I don't know Rach, I mean why not? It's not like it's a serious thing, it's just a date."

Santana knew she should be happy that at least one person at the table supported her, but as she gave Brittany a pained smile, she found that it really just hurt.

* * *

The days leading up to Friday had passed in a blur of school work and quizzes, leaving her no time to actually be nervous, but as the class periods came and went on the day of the date, she found herself in the bathroom a few times trying not to throw up. Quinn- true to her word- had been no help at all, only grunting noncommittally when Santana asked for opinions on what she should wear. In the end, she chose to keep it casual- opting for a pair of dark ripped jeans and flannel t-shirt, along with a new pair of Vans that Mercedes had gotten her for Christmas. 

She waved a quick goodbye to Quinn as she smoothed down her freshly curled hair and walked out of her room with a final glance in the mirror. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. She'd been on plenty of dates before and always had a fairly good time, but this felt different. Maybe it was because it felt like she had something to prove, like she had to prove that she was into guys. And she was! Santana had always found guys good-looking and kissing them was fairly enjoyable most of the time. Brittany was just a one-off.

She meandered down the halls, trying to find the cafe. She'd never actually been before, but she knew lots of students frequently hung out there. They served coffee and other small snacks, all billed to your school account, but it was certainly no Starbucks. Finally, after asking for directions from a bedraggled upperclassman, Santana managed to find the cafe. It was nestled into a back corner of the school, just a single counter and a few wrought-iron tables and chairs that looked straight out of a Parisian movie.

Puck was standing at the counter, two drinks in his hands as he chatted up the Barista, a student volunteer who Santana recognized as being a girl in their grade. As Santana approached, Puck saw her and straightened up, heading towards her with a genuine grin. He led her to a table, pulling out her chair for her, being so polite to the point that Santana actually scoffed out loud.

He ignored her response, handing her the warm cup. "Here you go. I got you some hot chocolate. I hope that's okay."

Santana sipped at the hot beverage, steaming rising out of the holes and into her face. "It's fine. Thank you."

The two sat in an awkward silence as Puck cast around for something to talk about. Santana had decided to let him take the lead. He was the one who wanted to go on a date anyway, let him handle all the uncomfortable small talk. It seemed he had finally landed on an appropriate topic, as he cleared his throat and began speaking. "So, whaddya think of Mckinley so far?"

She thought for a moment. "It's okay. I miss Ohio, crazy as that sounds, but England's cool too."

"Cool, cool."

Santana internally cringed. This encounter was definitely not ranking very high on the list of dates she'd been on. "So... did you want to get some food?" She decided to take one for the team and try to get at least something happening.

Puck jumped out of his seat, glad for the obvious change in direction. "Yeah, that'd be great. What do you want? I'll go order for both of us."

That was sweet of him. She decided to loosen up a little bit. For all of his faults, Puck was generally an okay guy. "I'll take a chocolate croissant please."

He nodded, going to stand in the small line that had formed in front of the counter. "Hey! Santana!"

Santana's stomach dropped to her shoes as she turned slowly, dread filling her body. "Hey, Britt-Britt!"

Brittany smiled at her and Santana almost, _almost,_ missed the way her hand was intertwined with a boy's. She glanced questioningly at the tall boy who she didn't recognize standing at the blonde's side. Brittany read her mind, glancing at the guy next to her once, before turning back to Santana. "This is Ricky. He and Puck are friends and he asked me out on a date as well! Isn't this so fun?"

Santana felt sicker than she had before, but she smiled anyway. As long as Brittany was happy, that was all that mattered. Besides, there was nothing to be jealous of. Brittany was allowed to date whoever she wanted and it's not like Santana hadn't done the same thing. Brittany and Santana made idle conversation as the boy- Ricky- stood there uncomfortably. After several painful minutes Puck returned, giving Ricky a seemingly mandatory-for-all-jocks bro hug and depositing the two paper bags from his hand onto the table.

Brittany waved as Ricky pulled her away. "Bye San! We're gonna go order and head to the common room."

Santana smiled tightly, waving halfheartedly. Puck stared at her face, a small frown on his lips. "Are you okay?"

She nodded softly, clearing her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Puck looked inclined to argue, but instead he opened his bag, pulling out his bagel. Santana did the same, taking a few bites out of her croissant. It was good, sure, but her stomach lurched anyway at the sight of Brittany and Ricky laughing together. She had to hold back tears as he leaned in for a kiss, which the blonde happily returned. If Puck noticed her staring, he had the good sense not to say anything, instead talking about sports and his favorite teams.

Santana shoved her croissant back in the bag, not wanting to eat anymore. Her phone buzzed from its spot in her pocket and she read the notification under the table. "Hey," she said, addressing Puck who had stopped chewing, a piece of bagel sticking out of his mouth. "Do you wanna get out of here? Quinn just texted and said she went out with Rachel and Sam and won't be back till later."

Puck's eyes widened and he quickly nodded in response, swallowing his bagel and dropping his leftover food into the trash can as he stood up and grabbed Santana's hand. She took a few steadying breaths, before allowing herself to be led out of the cafe and through the winding hallways.

* * *

Later that night, after returning to her room, showering, and promptly throwing up, Santana curled up into her pillow and cried, truly cried, for the first time since she was young. As the hot tears spilled down her face, she managed to fall into a fitful sleep, her dreams haunted by big blue-eyes and soft pink lips pressed against her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh Brittana angst! I'm so crazy busy with school right now, but I'm hoping to get chapter 9 up within the week. I have winter break soon so I'll definitely be writing a ton then. I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the comments, it really inspires me so much to keep writing!


	9. but if i had one, it'd be bigger than yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry for the hiatus! I've had major writer's block, but hopefully I'm past that now. 
> 
> In order to keep myself slightly more motivated (and since frankly I couldn't think of anything else to do) I'm going to change the order of the chapters a teensy bit. This chapter will cover up until the end of the school year, so it'll have a time jump in the middle. Chapter 10, which was originally the end of the school year, will now be a chapter from Quinn's POV set in the summer which will be very important for chapter 11! 
> 
> Hope you guys don't mind and enjoy!
> 
> As always, I do not own Glee or any of it's characters

Brittany was dating Ricky. Santana tried to hide the grimace that racked her body subconsciously when she saw them together. It wasn't like she wasn't doing the same thing. Ok, technically it wasn't the exact same. But, to put it bluntly, she was sleeping with Puck. Still. The two were awkward around each other, out of sync in a way that filled Santana with hopelessness and made her feel like she'd lost her best friend.

They acted normal in front of others and honestly if Santana didn't know better, she would have thought they were fine as well. But there was something about the sharp flash of pain in Brittany's eyes every time she caught Santana staring at the blonde's hand interlocked with Ricky's that made Santana realize things were not good.

Speaking of Ricky- Santana thought he was a total douche. She didn't know what Brittany saw in him- she could do significantly better- but that was Brittany for you. She always saw the good in people even when nobody else saw it. She could find positivity in every moment and while that was certainly an impressive quality, sometimes Santana felt it made her blind to the bad stuff that continued to happen. 

For example, Ricky treated Brittany like crap most of the time. He basically just used her for the popularity it afforded him. On more than one occasion, Santana had caught the boy sitting next to Brittany at a cafeteria table, a hand on her thigh and a smug smile on his lips as he glanced at his friends- who were for some reason never far away- as if to say 'look at who I bagged'. 

She'd brought it up to Brittany, but the blonde had assured her that Ricky was a nice guy and that he'd never use her like that. Besides, as the blonde had reasoned, most people tried to stay away from her, why would he purposely get closer?

Santana had to bite her lip not to shout out the obvious answer as to why somebody would want to date a princess but kept quiet because the blonde did seem genuinely happy. Honestly, that was the only reason that Santana hadn't gone totally berserk on the boy yet. She never wanted to see Brittany upset and obviously Ricky must have been doing at least one thing right if the blonde was so into him. 

In the end, Santana supposed it didn't matter who Brittany dated, as long as she was completely happy. Besides, she had Puck and it wasn't like _she_ wanted to date Brittany or anything, that would be just crazy. She wasn't jealous of Ricky, she just wanted the best for a person who deserved the world. Every best friend was like that. It was a best friend's sacred duty to tell the other when their boyfriend was a piece of shit, it was practically a law actually if you asked her.

Late on a Saturday evening, Santana sat pensively, a book propped up in her lap as she glanced around the library. Nobody else was in here except for her and the ancient librarian, but that was how Santana preferred it. She liked the quiet and the space it allowed her to simply reflect on life. She glanced back down at her book, letting herself get engrossed back in the story. She read for what could have been 1 minute or several hours- she'd been so sucked into the story she'd lost track of time- when footsteps approaching yanked her from the magnetic hold the novel had on her.

She skimmed the number on the page, committing it to memory before closing the book. The footsteps were behind her, and while Santana initially hoped it was Brittany, the steps were heavier than the blondes. 

She turned around, a bit startled from the unexpected interruption, a scowl dancing across her face as she realized it was Ricky. The boy stumbled into the armchair next to her, his swaying movements a dead giveaway of his lack of sobriety.

"What do you want Ricky?" Her tone was clipped, defensive as she gave the boy one of her carefully-mastered glares.

To his credit, the boy withered momentarily, but the alcohol had clearly stripped him of any sort of intelligence, as he stood up and moved closer to the Latina. "You."

His one-word answer was enough to set the brunette on edge, her mind racing as she pressed her back against the rough fabric of the armchair, desperate to escape the heavy heat of the boy's breath on her body.

"What the fuck Ricky? Get the hell out of here." Her words were like daggers that she meaningfully hurled into him, trying to get him to leave her alone.

Ricky seemed undeterred, as he knelt down on his knees, leaning his chest against the arm of the chair and making a face that Santana assumed was meant to be seductive. "Oh please. I've seen the way you look at me when I'm with Brittany." He leaned even closer, his mouth only inches from Santana's tightly recoiled body. "I know you want me."

"There is no way I'd ever want you. You're a pig and not to mention you're dating my best friend. Now seriously leave me alone. I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent, I will not hesitate to kick your sorry _culo_."

Ricky smiled, more of sneer truthfully, scoffing lightly as his hand touched Santana's thigh. She harshly flung his hand off of her body, not bothering to hide her contempt. "You can try all you want Santana, but I know how you really feel."

She froze for a moment, thoughts of Brittany racing through her mind as she flushed in a panic.

He continued, not noticing- or at least ignoring- the Latina's change in demeanor. "You're only screwing Puck because you wish you could have me."

"I'm not _screwing_ Puck and I most definitely don't want you."

Santana stood up, shoving Ricky onto the floor where he landed with a thump. His face filled with anger as he began to protest, attempting to stand up. Santana kicked him in the shin, turning whatever he was going to say into pitiful groans, and quickly she walked away, body shaking and mind processing.

* * *

Her body moved as if on autopilot, still shocked from the previous encounter and how brazenly Ricky had come onto her. She was dreading it, but Santana knew she had to tell Brittany.

She knocked on the blonde's door, still managing to smile slightly as she heard Brittany's voice call through the thick wood, saying she was coming. The girl opened the door, her expression excited as she took in the Latina in her door frame and then quickly shifting as she read the emotions practically vibrating off of her.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asked, a nervous expression on her face as her brows furrowed together in concern. 

She ushered the Latina into the room, sitting down on the quilted bed and patting the space next to her. Santana sat down gently, taking a breath and averting her gaze from the questioning blue eyes staring at her.

"Look Britt. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I was just in the library and Ricky tried to make a move on me." She spoke in one long, fast sentence, not even pausing to take a breath, figuring ripping the bandaid off was the best way to go.

Brittany looked upset for a moment, before clenching her jaw. "Really Santana? That's the best story you could come up with?"

Santana's jaw dropped in dumbfounded shock. She sputtered, unbelieving. "I'm not lying, Brittany! He came up to me while I was reading and was super drunk!"

Brittany stood up, pacing angrily. "I know you don't like Ricky, but that's really low Santana."

The brunette jumped up off of the bed, grabbing Brittany's arm trying to make her listen. "I'm telling the truth! Why don't you believe me?"

Brittany turned to fully face her, blue eyes locking on brown. "Look Santana. What am I supposed to think? It's clear you don't like Ricky and I dating, I just don't understand why. He makes me happy."

"He might make you happy, but he's a terrible person Britt. He's using you."

The blonde sat down abruptly, with clearly some of the fight having gone out of her. "He may not be great, but at least he wants to date me. That's more than I can say about most of the boys in the school."

Santana sat as well, placing a tentative hand on the girl's stooped back. "You can do so much better than him, Brittany. You _deserve_ so much better."

Brittany's eyes were fiery as she tilted her head towards that Latina. "Oh yeah? Who would I date? Why don't you tell me, since you're clearly so opinionated."

Santana sputtered slightly, flustered as she tried to dredge through her mind to find somebody who she felt was worthy of the girl sitting next to her.

Brittany shifted, falling onto her back across the bed. "Exactly."

The brunette lay on her side next to the girl, head propped up on her hand. "Well I can't think of anyone right now, but there are plenty of," she swallowed the knot in her throat. "guys who would kill to date you, I'm sure."

Brittany rolled onto her side as well so she was facing Santana, their heads close together and feet lightly touching. "I'm not going to break up with him."

Santana scoffed, angry. "Why not?"

Brittany avoided the question entirely, eyes raking across the Latina's face, causing her tan skin to heat. "Why do you care so much?"

She hesitated. "I'm just being a good best friend."

Those blue eyes were calculating as they continued to roam all over the brunette. "You seem very passionate about the subject, even for a _friend._ "

The word carried a heavier meaning that both girls felt between them. Santana said nothing, trying desperately to shove up some sort of emotional wall between them that would prevent Brittany from being able to read her so damn well. The blonde continued carefully. "It sounds like you're jealous, Santana."

The sentence was said in a sing-songy voice, enough so that Brittany was giving her the chance to play it off as a joke if she wanted to choose to do so. Again, Santana remained silent, not wanting to say anything, not trusting herself to say the right thing. 

Brittany's voice dropped to a whisper and her head dipped slightly closer. " _Are_ you jealous, Santana?"

The Latina's entire body felt as though it'd been electrocuted, every one of her nerves stood on end as she glanced down at the blonde's lips. Her face was so close, she'd hardly have to move at all to close the distance between them. Brittany's face was wide open and asking a question that Santana wasn't sure she'd ever be able to answer. The tension in the room raised several levels as neither girl made any move.

Santana's phone buzzed, shocking her out of her position and Brittany shifted away from the girl, eyes dropping to the bed. Santana read the text, her heart still racing from the energy that had been exchanged between the pair. The message itself was a measly two words, _U_ _up_?, sent by none other than Noah Puckerman. 

Santana sat up, shoving her phone into her hoodie pocket. "I have to go."

Brittany merely nodded, not moving from her position on the bed, simply watching carefully as the Latina stood up and left the room.

Once in the hallway, away from the suffocating air in Brittany's room, Santana leaned against a wall, debating whether or not to go meet up with Puck. The memory of blue eyes boring into her own urged her to say no, but the more she thought about it, the more she could hear her Abuela's voice in her head, see her parent's disappointed faces. Swallowing the sour taste in her mouth, she headed off in search of Puck.

* * *

She lay uncomfortably on the single bed, covers tossed on the floor and her brow sweaty. Her stomach rolled with nausea, worsened by the satisfied smirk on Puck's face as he yanked his boxers back on. She pulled the thin top sheet over her body, but it didn't do much in the way of emotional protection.

Puck grinned, stretching his arms over his head. "Pretty good huh?"

Santana grimaced, giving the mohawked boy an unconvincing nod. Her face clenched as she thought back to a few hours before in Brittany's room and without her permission, hot tears began to slide down her face.

Puck noticed the dampness on her cheeks, even as Santana quickly tried to brush the salty droplets away. His face softened, filled with concern. "Ah shit. Are you okay?"

She nodded once again, looking away from the boy. "I can't do this anymore."

Puck did a double-take, shock evident from his expression. "Wah-What?"

"I'm sorry. This was a bad idea in the first place." The Latina stood up quickly, wrapping the sheet around her as she searched around the room for her clothes.

"Santana, please, tell me what's wrong. Did I do something wrong?"

She yanked on her clothes haphazardly. "No. No. It's not you, it's me." Despite the seriousness of the situation, she almost let out a chuckle at having used the most cliche breakup line in the universe. 

Puck was still dumbfounded, frozen on the bed as the brunette made her way towards the door. "Santana, wait, can we talk about this? I'm sure we can work it out."

She chuckled darkly, muttering under her breath as she walked out of the room. "No, we can't."

\---

It seemed all roads led to the same destination, because for the second time that night, Santana found herself standing in front of a particular blonde's room. Her fist was raised over the door, poised to knock when the hinges creaked and swung open, causing both girls to jump a foot in the air.

Brittany spoke first, her voice shaky and weak. "I was coming to apologize to you."

Her blue eyes flicked over Santana's cheeks, tracing the path of where she assumed her mascara had run, but she refrained from commenting. "I was coming to apologize as well."

Brittany smiled lightly, the corners of her lips quickly dropping back into a frown, her expression cloudy. "I should have believed you. I'm so sorry San. I went to talk to him..." she scoffed, looking away. "He basically confessed to everything. So I dumped him."

Santana felt a sigh of relief escape her body, combined with something else she wasn't ready to identify. But she was happy. Brittany was worth far more than that sorry excuse for a boy would ever be able to afford. "I dumped Puck as well."

A single eyebrow raised on the blonde's perfectly manicured face. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"And are you... okay?" Again her eyes silently took in the Latina's ruffled appearance and the black streaking under her eyes and across her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Santana sighed, feeling emotionally drained and wanting nothing more than to lie down. She sucked in a careful breath. "Can I... come in?"

Brittany nodded silently, leading the tired girl into her room. The dorm was dark, only one small light on, a warm yellowish glow that softened the corners of all the sharp objects. For a moment Santana felt like one of those sharp edges, like a corner of a desk or the sharp blade of scissors, something that people would only get close to under the disguise of a night light. The problem with that, the problem with being born with jagged edges that could easily be hidden in the right light, was that others couldn't tell how getting too close would only ever end with them getting hurt. She yearned desperately to shove Brittany's caring embrace off of her, to tell her to get away and get away, because she was destined to get injured if she stuck around. But as the blonde led her gently to the bed, all her concerns were muted by the blonde's soft-spoken words and gentle hand wiping away tears she didn't realize had fallen.

She lay on the bed, arms tucked around herself as Brittany settled in close, their hips touching gently as the blonde pulled her slightly closer. She dropped a soft kiss on the Latina's brow, before reaching over and turning off the light, plunging them into darkness.

* * *

_June_

* * *

The last few weeks of school passed quickly. Santana was happy because Brittany was happy, and Brittany was happy because they were back to being _SantanaandBrittany._ Ever since the night where she and Ricky had broken up, the pair had been inseparable. If their friends noticed how quickly they had turned around, it was never brought up. To be fair, everyone in the school had had more pressing concerns, most importantly passing the final exams.

Finals came and went in a blur of late-night study sessions and steaming cups of bitter coffee from the cafe. She'd really only been nervous for her history exam but managed to scrape by with a solid A-minus. Santana knew it was different for her- she needed to keep her grades up or her scholarship would be revoked. Rachel faced a similar issue, but there was never any concern about her losing the arts scholarship. All she had to do was sing in front of an audience for a grade and she could keep attending, and per typical Rachel Berry style, she'd done phenomenally well and rumor had it that there wasn't a single dry eye in the auditorium when she was done.

She'd never thought she'd say this, but Santana was dreading leaving the school. Nobody was allowed to stay over the summer, everyone had to go home. She missed her parents more than she thought she would, but she also didn't want to leave her friends- Brittany- behind.

Her room was packed up, most of it in boxes shoved in corners for next year and she was only taking one suitcase home instead of the multiple she arrived with. She flung her body across the top of the luggage, silently begging for it to shut enough that she could zipper it closed. She just needed to get it zipped and similar to how she arrived, she just had to leave the bag in the room and someone who worked at the school would bring it out to the car.

From across the room, Quinn laughed, her hand intertwined with Rachel's. "Need some help there S?"

Santana gritted her teeth, shoving a few stray hairs out of her face. "I'm fine."

"You don't look so fine." Quinn jokingly called out, allowing herself to be pulled down to a sitting position next to the shorter brunette.

The Latina pressed her stomach harder against the suitcase, digging her toes into the ground for some leverage.

Rachel simply looked worried, as she gnawed on her lip casually. "Are you sure you don't need help Santana? If you're not careful you might pull some muscles in your back and ruin your posture. It's very important that you stay committed to maintaining proper back health throughout your adolescent years or you run the risk of needing surgery when you're older."

Santana and Quinn groaned in unison, Quinn's more light-hearted than Santana's however. With a grunt, she finally managed to pull the zipper the last few inches. Granted, it still looked like it might burst, but it was better than nothing.

"Ahah! Got it!" The girl stood up off of the floor, stretching her arms and shoulders with an exaggerated groan and a surreptitious glance in Rachel's direction. Before Rachel could launch into another rant, Santana changed the subject to something she'd been meaning to ask anyway. "So, are you guys gonna do like, long-distance or something?"

Rachel glanced at Quinn, who had started fidgeting uneasily. Her eyes were soft as she rubbed a hand over the blonde's back caringly. She seemed to be waiting for Quinn to speak. Finally, the girl looked up, stilling her motions slightly. "Yeah... It'll be hard but it's only for a few months. Besides, Rachel's dads said she could come back to England a few weeks early to visit."

Rachel spoke up cheerfully, her happiness seemingly undiluted. "Plus, my dad's said we change my phone plan to include long-distance phone calls!"

Santana had some concerns about how well long-distance- especially the across-oceans-type of distance- would end up working up, but both girls looked happy and Santana figured if anyone could do it, it would be them.

A knock on the door, had them all calling out 'come in on' and the door tentatively pulled open. Brittany was standing on the other side and Santana had flashbacks to the first day of school when she had met Brittany. It felt forever ago, but at the same time, it also felt like just yesterday.

The blonde girl entered, a sad smile on her face. "Hey guys. Rachel, San, the town car is here."

Santana wilted slightly, not wanting to have to leave. She stepped closer to Brittany, flinging her arms around the taller girl's neck and squeezing tightly. Her nose was pressed into the space where her shoulder and neck connected, the soft unmarred skin there, and she breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of vanilla and something pure Brittany.

"I'm gonna miss you so much Britt."

Brittany hugged her tighter in response, rocking on her heels slightly. "I'll miss you too San."

Santana finally pulled away, trying to hide the silver lining her eyes. She wiped at her nose, before letting out a small gasp and reaching into her pocket. "Wait, before you go, here's my address." She smiled sheepishly. "I figured since you don't have a phone we could write each other letters."

Brittany smiled a genuine smile, folding the paper into a small strip and placing it gently into her pocket. Rachel- who had finished a rather loud and tearful goodbye with Quinn- grabbed Santana's arm, pulling her towards the door with a final farewell to Quinn.

"Bye Britt." Santana said softly, maintaining eye contact with the blonde even as she was yanked out of the room.

Brittany's voice was even softer than her own, her eyes filled with a deepness that Santana wasn't sure she'd ever reach the bottom of. "Bye San."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, this chapter is done! I've been working on it for the past week and been so unmotivated, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 
> 
> The next chapter is one that I've been looking forward to writing. Remember, it's going to be from Quinn's POV but I will also say that in the beginning. There will also be some major trigger warnings for that chapter, so please read them first! If you think you can't read that chapter, I'm pretty sure you can just skip it and the story will still mainly make sense :)
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter, I appreciate all the feedback and support that I receive!


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